The European Commission (EC) has explicitly included nanotechnology as a theme in its research funding programmes over the past decade and supported nanoscientists through the European Research Council (ERC).

But the current funding regime, the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), will draw to a close at the end of 2013 to be superseded by a new funding initiative, Horizon 2020, which will run over the next seven-year period. Horizon 2020 promises to capitalise on the research foundations laid by FP6/7 and move into a new phase, where Europe’s intellectual capital is turned into commercial technologies. The new regime promises to address a widely perceived shortfall in technology transfer and put Europe in a strong position to grasp new opportunities in the commercialisation of emerging nanotechnologies across a vast array of diff erent sectors.

This transition marks an appropriate moment to take stock of the achievements of the EU’s nano-related research effort and look ahead to the coming years when the most promising technologies will start to emerge and consolidate.