Neurotechnology deserves an EU research moonshot
While Europe is taking strides to reorient itself towards disruptive innovation, its approach lacks the granularity needed to be truly effective across distinct technology domains. Neurotechnology, meaning technologies and techniques that interact directly with the human nervous system, offers a telling example. Despite its growing scientific and economic significance, the field has largely remained under the radar of EU policymakers, appearing only sporadically in Horizon Europe calls, and without the benefit of a holistic strategy.
The result is a structural mismatch: neurotechnology innovators are forced to compete in broad, undifferentiated funding streams, while receiving too little of the specialised, tailor-made support that would reflect the unique scientific, regulatory and ethical characteristics of the field.
Meanwhile, neurotechnology itself is advancing at remarkable speed, bringing within reach the prospect of real-time interaction with, and even repair of, the nervous system. A striking example is the closed-loop Brain Computer Interface developed by the German company CorTec, which is currently being evaluated in an clinical trial involving stroke patients, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the study is assessing whether targeted electrical stimulation can enhance neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganise its neural networks. By helping the brain relearn lost functions, such approaches have the potential to significantly accelerate and improve rehabilitation, in this case enhancing upper-limb motor recovery after stroke.
The implications are profound: for the approximately 1.7 million people who suffer a stroke each year in the US and Europe alone, such innovations could translate into markedly better outcomes and quality of life.
Other frontiers of application are also being crossed, complementing pharmaceutical approaches or offering solutions where no drug treatments exist. Conditions such as major depressive disorder, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and chronic pain can be resistant to treatment in some patients. One-third to a half of people with major depressive disorders do not respond to multiple antidepressants. Neurotechnology, including invasive methods such as deep brain stimulation and non-invasive techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, offers alternatives where drugs fail.
More generally, neurotechnology is an essential component of brain health and a critical complement to pharmacological and psycho-social interventions. It has an important role to play as part of the answer to the growing challenge of neurological and mental health conditions, with approximately one-third of Europe’s population, or 165 million people, suffering from them.
By 2050, brain disorders are projected to increase globally by 22% from 2021 estimates. Apart from the human burden of disease, economic consequences will rise significantly as well, with dementia expected to represent 11% of all healthcare spending in Germany in 2050, according to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Rivals for the brain
Not surprisingly, the brain space is increasingly the subject of global technological rivalry, as seen in the recent announcement by Open AI that it would co-fund a new brain-computer interface start-up, Merge Labs, with the expected valuation of $850 million, or China’s announced ambition to become a global leader in brain-computer interface technology by 2030.
In many cases, Europe is the birthplace of the science behind neurotechnology. Pioneering work by Alim-Louis Benabid, a French neurosurgeon and researcher from the Grenoble University Hospital, demonstrated that neurostimulation of a part of the brain involved in motor functions can significantly alleviate some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The resulting method, called deep brain stimulation, has improved the quality of life of thousands of patients around the world.
Today, there are numerous existing and emerging centres of excellence in neurotechnology around Europe, such as the Paris Brain Institute, the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, CEA-Leti, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and many others. They work on diverse areas of application, using different techniques: spinal cord stimulation, blocking pathological activity, stimulation of sensory systems, photo-biomodulation, and methods to remedy the loss of brain tissue as a result of trauma or stroke.
Like many advanced technology domains, neurotechnology is complex and multilayered. It is also profoundly interdisciplinary. Far from being a weakness, this is actually its strength. Neurotechnology sits at the intersection of brain science and medicine, compact electronics and powerful computation. Its next generation will be shaped by breakthroughs in advanced materials, enabling higher-fidelity neural recordings, improved biocompatibility and greater durability. This means that investing in neurotechnology generates substantial spillover benefits across a wide range of other innovation domains.
Aria shows the way
While the EU has not yet developed a neurotechnology strategy, the leadership of the UK’s Advance Research and Innovation Agency (Aria) stands out. Through its scalable neural interfaces opportunity space, the agency aims to develop highly targeted, minimally invasive technologies capable of interfacing with the human brain at scale. Its precision neurotechnologies programme, backed by a £69 million budget, focuses on novel methods of interfacing with the brain at the level of neural circuits.
Reflecting the level of ambition that this field demands, Aria is now launching a new programme on massively scalable neurotechnologies. As programme director Jacques Carolan asked recently: “What if treating severe depression was as simple as a flu jab?” or “What if we could reverse Parkinson’s with a nasal spray?” In his vision, the limited accessibility of powerful treatments for devastating brain disorders “isn’t a gap; it’s a failure of imagination.”
Even the most established and reimbursed implanted neurotechnology, deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease, is not being adopted at a pace sufficient to meet growing demand. Aria’s response is to envision a foundational platform of minimally invasive, implantable technologies that can create an entirely new market, one capable of addressing multiple conditions without having to reinvent the wheel each time.
A neurotechnology moonshot
All this points to a clear conclusion: neurotechnology in the EU merits its own moonshot, building on Europe’s impressive scientific base and deep technological expertise. Delivering on this ambition will require a three-pronged approach.
First, Europe should maximise pre-competitive collaboration to ensure that synergies are created across research efforts and that innovation opportunities are fully realised further downstream.
Secondly, a dedicated neurotechnology funding board should be established to better coordinate, adapt and optimise funding instruments. Such an approach could help resolve the EU’s persistent dilemma between relying on broad, generic funding streams and ensuring access to the specialised knowledge and expertise that complex fields like neurotechnology require.
Third, Europe must develop neurotechnology-specific healthcare reimbursement models and enable willing member states to pool resources, providing a credible pathway for large-scale uptake within health systems.
As this race accelerates, such efforts must be grounded in responsible research and innovation, recognising that neurotechnology raises fundamental questions of privacy, agency, mental autonomy, human identity, consent and equity.
While the European Innovation Council (EIC) prepares to launch its Advanced Innovation Challenges for 2026-27, it would be well advised to draw inspiration from developments across the Channel, particularly Aria’s pioneering approach to neurotechnology.
The EIC inevitably operates within constraints, and its annual work programmes deliver targeted opportunities for some innovators while leaving many others to compete in broad, generic calls. Yet given neurotechnology’s emerging role as both a cornerstone of brain health and a focal point of interdisciplinary innovation, Europe needs to adopt a far more strategic approach to the field, making it an area of excellence and competitive strength.
This article was originally published on Science | Business
