EERA - The European Energy Research Alliance

It’s almost that time of the year again…👀 EERA’s High-Level Policy Conference is fast approaching on 📆16 October! This year, we explore ⚡energy research and innovation as a driving force behind the EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. Join us at our conference in Sparks, Brussels or online to: 👉Hear from renowned speakers on how energy research can advance the EU’s strategic goals, including:                                                                             🔹Janez Potocnik - Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel & Former European Commissioner for the Environment       🔹Martin Porter - Executive Chair, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)   🔹Rosalinde van der Vlies - Clean Planet Director at the European Commission DG Research and Innovation                             🔹Norela Constantinescu - Deputy Director, Innovation and Technology Center, IRENA             👉Get a sneak peek at EERA’s upcoming technology and policy report featuring key recommendations on this challenge. Secure your spot today: ➡️ https://lu.ma/ngb2fp47

This week, the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) Implementation Working Group on 🌱Sustainable and ⚡Efficient Energy Use in Industry (IWG-Industry) came together for its quarterly meeting! 🤔Interested to learn more? The IWG-Industry is dedicated to supporting energy intensive industries in becoming ✅ more competitive and less resource-, emissions- and energy-intensive. The meeting featured insightful discussions on key topics, including:   🔹National funding programmes 🔹New industrial research & innovation priorities for 2025-2027 🔹The benefits of Low-Voltage Direct Current (LVDC) microgrids in industrial plants 🔹The 2026-2027 Processes4Planet priorities Explore more below. 👇

📣The SSH CENTRE Book Launch & Panel event is just around the corner! Join the SSH Centre on 22 October in Granada, Spain or online to gain key insights into the project’s 📖 three new open-access books. These publications gather recommendations from 154 researchers on advancing the EU Green Deal, with a focus on strengthening European 🌍 climate, ⚡ energy, and 🛣️ mobility policies. But that’s not all! You will have the opportunity to hear directly from leading experts from the European Commission through a panel discussion, including: 🗣️ Suzanna Kraak – Policy Officer, DG Research & Innovation 🗣️ Bruno Mola – Policy Officer, DG for Climate Action 🗣️ Elena Dufour – Policy officer, DG Research and Innovation 🗣️Jesus Alquezar - Policy Officer/Socio-Economic Analyst, DG Environment Register now: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dDyfZAyX

That’s a wrap! 🚀 The second panel of EERA’s High-Level Policy Conference delivered some powerful key takeaways:  The most significant bottlenecks to overcome for scaling up low-carbon energy technologies in Europe include talent and skills 📉 shortages, access to 🪙 funding, and policy and market alignment. 🔬 Europe has a strong research and development community, but what we urgently need to compete on a 🌍 global scale is greater connectivity, efficiency and investment. 🔗 Integrating sustainability into competitiveness can make up an important part of Europe’s success in the area going forward. 🎤 These featured insights stem from our insightful debate between Daniel Cios, Benedetta Scuderi, Fabrice Stassin, and Tuula Mäkinen, who together discussed how ⚡ low-carbon energy research and innovation intersects with and supports the industrial ecosystem.  Bringing the event to a close, EERA President Henk-Jan Vink expertly circled back ↩️ to the main pillar of research and innovation, and more precisely, 🔦 shining a light on its increasingly vital role in propelling forward European competitiveness on the global stage. #EUSustainableCompetitiveness #R&IAtTheCore 

The first panel discussion of today’s High-Level Policy Conference has officially 🎬 wrapped-up, leaving us with many insightful and new ideas to reflect on! 💭 📈 Investments will only be boosted if the industry has the confidence to operate in a stable, predictable framework. 🌍To ensure that industry representatives benefit from a strategic direction, clear targets should be set by policymakers. When 🔗 linking research and innovation with competitiveness and industry, it is imperative to ensure trust, 💪 support and defragmentation among EU Member States. ⚖️ Europe is facing major regional divides in research and innovation, a challenge that should be addressed by 🤝 leveraging the network of research and technology organisations across Europe. 💭 A major understudied challenge is the impact of the energy transition on employment rates. 💡In meeting the climate targets, industry representatives should opt for innovation, not delocalisation. 🗣️ These perspectives and more were brought to the fore by our leading speakers César Dro, Norela Constantinescu, Martin Porter, Angels Orduna, and Nils Røkke, who delved into the increasingly vital role of low-carbon energy research in 🤝 securing long-term competitiveness and shaping the future energy landscape. ⏺️ Want to learn more? Join our conference live here: https://lnkd.in/ecDx7U8S

 💬 “Sustainability is not in opposition to competition, but a critical success factor for competitiveness, fairness and democracy.” Inspiring remarks from our 2024 High-Level Policy Conference 🗣️ opening speaker Janez Potocnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel & Former European Commissioner for Science and Research (2004 – 2010) and Environment (2010 2014). Taking to the 🎤 stage to discuss the key highlights from our upcoming flagship report, EERA Secretary General Adel El Gammal further stressed the need for innovation funding to be seen as an investment rather than a cost to society.🌱 And that’s not all! Rosalinde van der Vlies, 🌍 Clean Planet Director at the European Commission, reminded us of the core message of today’s conference in her conversation with energy and climate journalist Anna Gumbau Martínez, namely that research and innovation is crucial to meet our climate ambitions and drive forward EU competitiveness, with a core need to 📈 invest in both our short and long-term future. #EUSustainableCompetitiveness #R&IAtTheCore ⏺️ Join us live to explore how energy research drives the EU’s strategic goals: https://lnkd.in/ecDx7U8S 

🎦 EERA’s 2024 High-Level Policy Conference is officially live!    Don’t miss out! 🧑💻 Follow the conference online below ⤵️ and hear from leading experts as they discuss how energy research and innovation acts as a driving force behind the EU’s competitiveness.   Featured speakers include:   🔹Janez Potocnik - Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel & Former European Commissioner for Science and Research (2004 – 2010) and Environment (2010 2014)  🔹Martin Porter - Executive Chair, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Europe   🔹Rosalinde van der Vlies - Clean Planet Director at the European Commission DG Research and Innovation   🔹Norela Constantinescu - Deputy Director, Innovation and Technology Center, IRENA   Join us live right now. 👇 

✍️EERA’s top policy story is out! 💶This week, we take a closer look at the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), which could be introduced under the EU’s 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework. 📈If implemented, the fund would lead to a far-reaching transformation of the EU research and innovation system by consolidating R&I financing into a single structure.🤝 Programmes such as the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, Horizon Europe Pillar I and the European Research Council would be merged. ✅Inspired by Mario Draghi’s report on the future of European competitiveness, the proposal seeks to establish a common governance to simplify rules. It also echoes key recommendations from Enrico Letta’s 📑 report on the future of the Single Market. 💭Explore below how the ECF could lead to sweeping changes in the EU’s R&I landscape, and the mixed reactions it has sparked in the political arena.👇 https://lnkd.in/eGrD-jg4

EERA Secretary General Adel El Gammal recently joined an expert panel hosted by the European Commission to discuss the critical role of 🔬 research and innovation in enhancing the EU’s energy security and fostering the competitiveness of its clean tech industry, notably in light of the 2024 Net-Zero Industry Act. 🎥You can now watch the full event recording here: https://lnkd.in/eH6Eiz5u 💡Interested in this topic? This Wednesday, EERA’s High-Level Policy Conference will bring together renowned speakers to explore the role of ⚡ energy research and innovation as a driving force behind the EU’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy amid rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions. ⌛Today is the last day to register for online participation to our conference! Secure your spot now ➡️ https://lu.ma/ngb2fp47

👀This week, explore the second work programme of RISEnergy, a project dedicated to 🔬coordinating research efforts between research organisations and private companies to help develop European energy technologies. 🔎The second work programme fosters researchers’ access to a wide network of cutting-edge research infrastructures for renewable energy technologies. 🥇This work stream is spearheaded by expert Olga Sumińska-Ebersoldt, Senior Scientist and Project Manager at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). How can you benefit from these research infrastructures? Apply for the Transnational Access Calls, which provide opportunities to work on various research areas: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7k9EBAB Take a look through the slides below for an overview of the second work programme and Olga’s inspiring leadership in driving it forward.👇