Monday, August 25th, 2025
The European Union is a global leader in science and discovery. The European Union, UK and Switzerland produce around one-third of the world’s scientific publications, making it one of the largest contributors to global research. A large share of Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, and medicine have been awarded to European scientists, reflecting the continent’s strong tradition of scientific excellence. With strong institutions, top-tier research talent, and a deep commitment to public investment in research and innovation (R&I), Europe continues to produce knowledge that shapes academic and scientific frontiers. However, a growing concern persists: the EU is not matching its scientific output with equivalent technological or innovation driven economic impact.
ALICE reflections on the recent European Commission policy brief “ A comparative analysis of public R&I funding in the EU, US, and China” highlight that the EU allocates the largest share of its public R&I budget to basic research compared to other major economies. While this investment underpins Europe’s leadership in knowledge generation, it also reveals a structural imbalance: Europe underinvests in experimental development- the later stages of R&I where ideas are translated into real-world applications.
Basic research is essential for scientific progress, but it is experimental development that turns those discoveries into usable, scalable, and commercially viable solutions. While Europe excels in scientific discovery, the US and China are often stronger at turning research into large-scale innovations. Venture capital & Risk Investment is a key driver: in 2023, US startups attracted over $170 billion and Chinese startups around $60 billion, compared to less than $60 billion in the whole of Europe. Regulation and market size/fragmentation also play a role: the US benefits from a single market of 330 million people, while China can rapidly deploy innovations across a domestic market of 1.4 billion, whereas Europe remains fragmented. Finally, China, state-driven industrial programs starting from technology and market readiness ensure fast adoption- contrasting with Europe’s slower pathways including, conceptualization, priority setting, R&I programming, long project cycles focussing on technology readiness and missing other important factors for adoption.
According to the same European Commission policy brief “A comparative analysis of public R&I funding in the EU, US, and China”, less than 40% of public R&I funding goes toward experimental development. In contrast, the United States and China allocate well over 50%. This disparity directly affects Europe’s ability to bring innovations to market quickly and at scale.
The consequences of this imbalance are evident. While European research institutions frequently lead in high-impact publications and international collaborations, European companies often trail behind in the development and commercialisation of cutting-edge technologies, particularly in fields such as digital infrastructure, clean mobility and logistics and advanced manufacturing.
For sectors like freight transport and logistics- where innovation depends not only on bold ideas but also on deployment at scale- this funding gap is critical. Logistics innovation is inherently complex and cross-cutting. It involves systems integration, large-scale demonstrations, infrastructure readiness, digital maturity, and alignment across multiple stakeholders addressing market interdependencies. All of these elements sit squarely within the domain of experimental development.
As a platform committed to accelerating innovation in logistics, ALICE recognises that Europe’s ability to meet its climate and competitiveness goals hinges on its capacity to scale up transformative solutions. Concepts such as the Physical Internet, digital twins, and sustainable urban freight require sustained investment beyond the lab. Piloting, validation, and system deployment are essential stages that must be properly funded.
The IKIGAI project is a transformative initiative that helps logistics innovations move beyond research and into large-scale deployment. By connecting innovators, companies, and policymakers, it creates practical pathways to bring new solutions to the market. The project directly supports industry in tackling major challenges such as resilience, sustainability, competitiveness, digitalization, and automation. In doing so, IKIGAI accelerates the scaling up of innovations that make European logistics stronger and more future-ready.
Europe does not lack ideas. It lacks sufficient support to take those ideas through the full innovation pipeline, from lab to market. The current imbalance between basic research and applied development must be addressed if the EU is to remain a serious player in global innovation.
To bridge this gap, a recalibration of public R&I funding is necessary. This does not mean reducing investment in fundamental science; rather, it calls for an increase in support for experimental development to ensure that scientific discoveries do not remain abstract but become impactful. Funding programmes must place greater emphasis on late-stage innovation, prototyping, industrial validation, and market uptake.
Moreover, innovation ecosystems, including those in logistics generated at regional/country level in logistics clusters and at European level, namely ALICE, should be equipped with the necessary research and technology infrastructures (RTIs) and resources to successfully support the twin transition, green and digital and ensuring Europe keeps and increase its leadership and competitiveness in the global context. Public-private partnerships, light house projects implementing innovations in real-life market operations being first of a kind deployment addressing stakeholders interdependencies (e.g. Introduction of HDVs for long distance electrification, automation, large scale digitalization projects, fast track adoption of AI in logistics chains), and cross-border testbeds are among the tools that can help operationalise this vision.
The EU’s excellence in basic research is well-established and rightfully celebrated. However, if Europe aims to lead in innovation- not just in knowledge- it must commit to bridging the Science and application gap by addressing essential factors for deployment such as market, societal, industrialization and stakeholders interdependencies. This is not merely a technical issue; it is a strategic imperative for Europe’s economic resilience, technological sovereignty, and 3-dimensional sustainability: environment, social and economic.
For ALICE and its members, this conversation is central. Logistics innovation thrives not just on discovery, but on development, demonstration, and deployment of innovations. Closing the gap between research and application will be vital to realising Europe’s ambitions for zero-emission logistics, digitalisation, and globally competitive freight systems. Focussing on implementation of innovations in real logistics operations is essential to accelerate this transition.