The Photonics Partnership Annual Meeting 2026 brought together Europe's leading voices in photonics research, industry, and policy in Brussels on 9 and 10 June for two intensive days of strategy, debate, and ambition. Against the backdrop of an accelerating global technology race, the meeting delivered a clear and unified message: Europe must invest decisively in photonics – or risk falling behind in AI, defence, quantum, and beyond.
SRIA Handed Over to the European Commission
The centrepiece of the evening on 9 June was the formal handover of Photonics21's new Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) to Kilian Gross, Director for Emerging and Enabling Technologies at DG CNECT of the European Commission. The SRIA outlines Europe's priorities for photonics research and innovation and serves as the sector's official call to action ahead of Framework Programme 10 (FP10) and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034).
"Decisions made today will determine who leads tomorrow — in AI, defence, quantum, and beyond."
— Lutz Aschke, Photonics21 President
The Investment Case: €2 Billion for Photonics in FP10
Photonics21 presented a compelling position paper backed by major European industry players including Bosch, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Nokia Bell Labs, ZEISS, TRUMPF, and EssilorLuxottica. The joint industry statement called for:
- A €2 billion stand-alone programme for photonics under FP10 — described as non-negotiable
- A leverage effect of €6–8 billion in private co-investment
- Photonics to become a pillar of Chips JU 2.0, not an afterthought
- Launch of Photonics Grand Challenges in AI, space, quantum, and defence
The message was unambiguous: photonics underpins 20% of Europe's economy, yet over 50% of EU photonics companies remain dependent on Chinese suppliers — a strategic vulnerability the community is determined to address.
Eight Grand Challenges: Mission-Driven Innovation for European Leadership
A major focus of the event was the presentation and discussion of eight Photonics Grand Challenge proposals:
| Grand Challenge | Strategic Area |
| Lightspeed AI: Next Generation AI Infrastructures with Light | Digital |
| Zero Contaminant: Deep-Tech for Clean Food and Environment | Agri, Food |
| Clean Orbit and Europe's Defence Security with Directed Photonic Energy | Space, Defence |
| Photonic Health Monitoring for Preventive and Precision Medicine | Health |
| Directed Energy Effectors and PICs for Defence: Innovations for Sovereignty | Defence |
| The Test-before-Invest Grand Challenge | Horizontal |
| NextGen Photonics: New Horizons Through Secondary Sources | Emerging Technology |
|
Microfactories for Space and Defence |
Space, Defence |
Each Grand Challenge requires €250–900 million in public investment, matched by at least a fourfold contribution from European industry. Dedicated workshops on 10 June allowed participants to dive deeper into implementation pathways across five thematic areas: Digital Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Health, Safety/Security/Space & Defence, and Agriculture & Food.
Thales Keynote: Photonics at the Heart of European Defence
Pierre Fossier, Chief Scientific Officer of Thales, delivered a keynote examining the pivotal role of photonics in defence applications. From LIDAR and optical gyroscopes to free-space optical communications and microwave photonics, Fossier demonstrated how PIC-based architectures are essential for next-generation defence systems.
He underscored a key challenge facing the sector:
"The challenge is not innovation — it's the transition from science to industry."
Crossing the "valley of death" — the gap between public research and industrial scale-up — requires targeted bridge funding and public-private cooperation. Remaining challenges include packaging for harsh defence environments, co-integration of photonics and electronics, and the development of optical chip testing capabilities.
European Commission: Photonics as a Strategic Priority
Kilian Gross (DG CNECT) confirmed the Commission's growing recognition of photonics as a cross-cutting strategic technology. He highlighted the convergence of photonics, microelectronics, and quantum technologies as a key opportunity for the next MFF, and outlined concrete support already in place:
- PIXEurope pilot line — ~€400 million, covering six photonic platforms (SOI, SiN, SiC, InP, Mid-IR, UV-Visible)
- APECS pilot line — €726 million, including advanced packaging with photonics integration
- Approved FOAK projects including ams OSRAM (€230M), Ephos (€40M), and CamGraPhIC (€211M)
Gross outlined the possible way forward: evolving the SRIA into an industrialisation roadmap, deepening collaboration with Chips JU, and aligning photonics across application-driven programmes in FP10.
Photonics21 Innovation Award 2026
This year’s Photonics21 Innovation Award — the annual prize recognising outstanding early-career researchers developing commercially promising photonics-based solutions — was awarded to Samuele Grandi, CEO and Co-founder of Arq Quantum Technologies. Arq is actively contributing to Europe's pan-European quantum internet initiative, with a target of deployment by 2038.
Chips JU: Building the Full PIC Value Chain
Anton Chichkov, Head of Programmes at Chips JU, provided an update on the Joint Undertaking's expanding support for photonics. With a tri-partite structure totalling ~€11 billion, Chips JU has funded successive projects building Europe's photonic integrated circuit (PIC) capabilities — from design to fabrication to packaging.
Key milestones highlighted:
- PIXEurope — the dedicated integrated photonics pilot line, selected for funding in November 2024
- STARLight — a 300mm silicon photonics pilot line (€102M EU + national + IKOP)
- A growing network of Competence Centres (CCCs) with photonics expertise across Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, and beyond
PhotonDelta: Europe Has the Ingredients — Now It Must Scale
Dr. Abdul Rahim, Ecosystem Manager at PhotonDelta, presented a clear-eyed assessment of Europe's position in the global integrated photonics landscape. Europe leads in technical value creation across the full PIC value chain, but faces critical gaps in consolidated manufacturing scale, high-volume packaging capacity, and integrated workflow ownership in design tools.
With global M&A activity in integrated photonics dominated by AI-related transactions (98% of disclosed values), the urgency is clear. Rahim called for a dedicated working group on integrated photonics to coordinate Europe's commercial response.
