Prof. Nicolas Kalogerakis was appointed by the European Commission as Sherpa in the High Level Group (HLG) on Key Enabling Technologies for the period 2013-2015.

The members are appointed by the Commission from key actors along the whole Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) value chain. The following key organizations are represented: (1) technology representatives for each of the six KET (micro-/nanoelectronics, industrial biotechnology, photonics, nanotechnologies, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing) and for multi-KETs (as most innovative products are a combination of different KETs); (2) down-stream industry users as the aim of the KETs Strategy is to boost the production of KETs-based products; (3) cross-cutting KETs representatives and civil society representatives: the European Investment Bank, the Research Community, the Skills and SME Community as well as other relevant stakeholders from civil society (as trade union association, environmental NGO, movement involving local and regional authorities); and (4) the relevant Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) are represented in order to ensure coherence and create synergies. In doing so, the European Commission sought to achieve a balanced overall composition, based on broad representation and expertise of the members while keeping the size of the HLG to a manageable level.

Prof. Nicolas Kalogerakis (TUC) and Prof. Fabio Fava (University of Bologna) represent EU Academia in the HLG on KETS.

The High Level Group on KETs will give advice to the Commission on the implementation of European Strategy for KETs, as outlined in the Communication of June 2012. The group will assist the Commission in enabling discussion with Member States/regions and private stakeholders on the implementation of that strategy. The tasks of the High Level Group include

(a) The financial engineering of KETs projects;

(b) The synergy between EU instruments and between different KETs;

(c) The mobilization of trade instruments to ensure fair competition and a level international playing field for KETs;

(d) State aid related issues in view of the existing state-aid framework and ongoing reviews;

(e) The identification of potential projects of common European interest;

(f) The identification of regulatory impediments to the commercialization and market uptake of KETs and the free circulation (internal market) of KETs based products;

(g) The integration of KETs development with member state economies to allow member states/regions to leverage the particular strength of their local economy;

(h) The commitment of private stakeholders in support of the EU KETs policy;

(i) The supply of skilled labour in KETs-related areas;

(j) The follow-up of the market evolution and policy measures with regard to KETs, in the EU and abroad.