The European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA) is a non-for-profit, industry-driven association promoting the development of new and innovative production technologies. As the European Commission’s private partner in the Made in Europe manufacturing partnership, EFFRA’s key objective is to promote pre-competitive research on production technologies within the European Research Area. 

Vision and Mission 

We envision Europe as the number one machinery equipment provider and the most attractive region for producing sustainable high-added value goods and services. 

We offer a unique convergence point between industry and academia that centers manufacturing research and innovation, and through our community’s input we help the European Commission draft relevant calls for future projects.  

Why manufacturing and innovation? 

Manufacturing is of key importance for Europe, employing 29.4 million persons in 2020 and being the largest contributor to non-financial business economy value added, accounting for more than one quarter of the total (29 %). 

Aware that manufacturing research and innovation is not only the pre-condition to keep value-added jobs and wealth in Europe, ensuring the region’s resilience, but also an enabler of environmental sustainability, EFFRA provides a cross-sectorial platform at European level for collaboration. 

A bit of our history 

In 2009, The European Commission chose EFFRA as partner and gave the  clear mandate for developing manufacturing call topics. Since then, EFFRA has been representing the private side of the manufacturing partnership with the EU Commission, first through Factories of the Future (named under Horizon 2020) and now through Made in Europe (under Horizon Europe). 

The Made In Europe partnership is the driver of sustainable manufacturing in Europe. The projects launched within the Made in Europe Partnership provides a boost to European manufacturing ecosystems towards global leadership in technology, circular industries and flexibility. It contributes to a competitive, green, digital, resilient and human-centric manufacturing industry and with that it is at the centre of a twin ecological and digital transition, both a driver and subject to these changes. 

What do we do? 

EFFRA is a membership-based association anchored in the values of cooperation, discussion, fairness and innovation. We are proud to count on a diverse and dynamic community of more than 150 members in more than 10 countries working both in industry and research whom we regularly engage in networking, matchmaking and knowledge-sharing activities. Many of our activities’ impact reach far beyond our membership, with the production of R&D roadmaps and pathways, engaging and collecting feedback from manufacturers and cooperating directly with the European Commission and its members states, all this to ensure that, together with the European Commission, manufacturing calls in the EU framework programme are determined by EFFRA’s extended community in an effective way.