The annual political event of the Vanguard Initiative, in which the AFIL cluster is a key player, took place in Brussels on 22 November. Vanguard is a European initiative that brings together 33 regions to promote the identification and development of pilot projects in advanced technology sectors, in line with regional Smart Specialisation Strategies.

The event brought together political representatives from 29 member regions, who reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the implementation of the most mature demo-cases developed to date.

On this occasion, Luca del Gobbo, Regional Minister for Universities, Research and Open Innovation for the Lombardy Region and current Chair of the Vanguard Initiative, called on partner regions to coordinate their efforts and accelerate progress. This call was underscored by a significant and concrete action: the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding between the regions involved in the Vanguard demo-case network concerning the Circular Economy, developed within the “ESM-Efficient and Sustainable Manufacturing” pilot, which is coordinated by AFIL.

The agreement, promoted by the Lombardy Region, represents a major milestone and, at the same time, a fundamental starting point for the realisation of the work carried out since 2014 within the “De and Remanufacturing” working group. The network established over these years through the work of the AFIL cluster includes various European regions (Lombardy, Basque Country, Catalonia, East Netherlands, Emilia Romagna, Flanders, Norte, Pays de la Loire, Saxony, Scotland, South Netherlands, Tampere and Wallonia) and involves a total investment of €40 million, which the regions have committed to co-financing.

The most significant message to emerge from the political event is the recognised ability of the Vanguard Initiative to generate interregional investment projects that foster new European value chains, thereby increasing the competitiveness of European companies. This awareness was confirmed by the partners' commitment to finding co-financing solutions that enable the implementation of the proposed projects by sharing risks with the private sector.

The Lombardy Green Chemistry Cluster and the Lombardy Energy and Environment Cluster (LE2C) also participate in the Vanguard Initiative across various pilots.