WindEurope Quarterly Newsletter on EU Research and Innovation policy, Funding Opportunities and Projects February 2022

Upcoming EU Funding Opportunities and Research & Innovation policy

Horizon Europe project calls are open for the following wind energy-related topics with an application deadline on 23 February 2022:

• Wind energy in the natural and social environment
• Physics and aerodynamics of atmospheric flow of wind for power production
• Innovation on floating wind energy deployment optimized for deep waters and different sea basins (Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, North-east Atlantic Ocean)
• Next generation of renewable energy technologies

And with an application deadline on 26 April 2022:

• Demonstration of innovative materials, supply cycles, recycling technologies to increase the overall circularity of wind energy technology and to reduce the primary use of critical raw materials.
• Exploiting renewable energy for shipping, in particular focusing on the potential of wind energy (ZEWT Partnership)

You can access all the available calls through the Commission funding and tenders portal here.

On 3 February the European Commission organised an Info Day on the upcoming calls for Horizon Europe’s climate, energy, and mobility cluster (#5). The Info Day was followed by a brokerage event organised by National Contact Points to support the development of consortia.

74 open topics were presented with an emphasis on providing advice on how to draft a good proposal and sharing the key lessons learnt from the first Horizon Europe evaluations. All sessions are available here.
 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is the EU’s funding instrument for cross-border infrastructure investments. The CEF covers transport, telecoms, and energy which gets €5.8bn over the 2021-2027 period out of a total of €33.71bn.

On 26 January EU Member States agreed on a European Commission proposal to invest €1bn in five cross-border infrastructure projects under the CEF for trans-European energy networks. The largest amount of funding will go to the EuroAsia interconnector project (€657m) to support the first electricity interconnection between Cyprus and the European grid. Upcoming funding calls under the CEF will be focused on supporting projects that are identified in the 5th PCI list.

The new Connecting Europe Facility programme also introduces a window for cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy, with an allocation of up to 15% of the CEF budget. This comes on top of Projects of Common Interest defined as part of the Trans-European Networks for Energy Regulation (TEN-E).

The first call for cross-border renewables projects closed on 1 February, making €1m available to support preparatory studies before projects are presented for inclusion in the Union list of cross-border renewable energy projects.
 

For more information, contact Iván Pineda.
 

The LIFE Clean Energy Transition Call for Proposals will be published on the Funding & tender opportunities portal on 17 May 2022.

In 2021 LIFE CET funded 18 topics across five areas of intervention, accelerating roll out, digitalisation, new services and business models and the enhancement of skills, as well as attracting private financing for sustainable energy.

The LIFE CET programme has a budget of nearly €1bn for the period 2021-2027.
For more information, contact Iván Pineda.
 

The second call for large projects under the Innovation Fund is open with a deadline to submit applications by 3 March 2022. The call has a budget of €1.5bn.
 
Key changes to this call are the creation of a separate category for ‘manufacturing of components for renewables’ and new categories to promote renewables in transport and heating & cooling.

On 13 January the European Commission hosted a webinar on the lessons learnt from the first calls for projects in 2021. All relevant material can be found through this link.
For more information, contact Iván Pineda.
 

News from WindEurope projects

The Corewind project held its third dissemination event on 9 February. Project partners from IREC, INNOSEA, Ramboll and IHCantabria presented the project’s recent breakthrough findings for floating wind. WindEurope provided an overview of the state of play for floating offshore wind in Europe.

You can access the webinar through this link.

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For more information, visit our website or contact Lizet Ramírez.

About Corewind: The COREWIND project provides disruptive and cost-effective solutions for floating offshore wind technology leading to cost reduction. It is developing innovative research, modelling and optimisation for concrete-based floating substructure concepts.
 

ETIPWind has produced its latest factsheet on “Electricity grids for a climate-neutral Europe”, laying out the four key building blocks for a renewables-based energy system that is fit-for-55 and set for climate neutrality. The factsheet builds on the latest report published by ETIPWind and WindEurope in June 2021, which shows that renewables-based electrification is the most cost-effective way to decarbonise Europe’s economy.
 
ETIPWind organised an online webinar on 9 December to launch the factsheet. The event saw energy experts come together to identify the key building blocks and technological solutions that will make Europe’s grids fit for a renewables-based energy system. During the webinar industry experts agreed that there is an urgent need to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders and to implement new technologies to deliver electricity grids that are able to bring about climate neutrality by 2050.
 
You can access the full proceedings here.
 
For more information, contact Iván Pineda.
 
About ETIPWind: ETIPWind works to define and agree on concrete research and innovation (R&I) priorities and communicate these to the European institutions and other decision-making bodies in order to support the EU’s ambition of a decarbonised economy by 2050.
 

Renewables are at the centre of a job-rich, cost-effective delivery of the European Green Deal. The European Union will have to double the rate of wind deployment alone to meet the EU’s 2030 renewable energy targets. The EU Renewable Energy Directive mandates Member States to simplify permitting – a maximum of 2 years for new projects, and 1 year for repowered ones. Yet authorisation processes are still the key bottleneck to unlocking the wind volumes Europe needs for net-zero. 

In Q1 2022 the RES-Simplify project will continue engaging national stakeholders to assemble best practices from across the EU on wind energy permitting, and to exchange information on how Member States can best implement the simplified permitting rules from the Renewables Directive as quickly as possible. Expect to see the project in action both in national capitals and at WindEurope’s Annual Event in Bilbao from 5-7 April. More information will follow shortly.

These exchanges will support the European Commission in preparing its new Guidance to National Governments on simplifying and accelerating Permitting expected in the summer of 2022. And Don’t hold back on sharing your own views on how the Guidance can help simplify permitting – you can do so through the ongoing public consultation before 12 April.
For more information, contact Viktoriya Kerelska.

About RES Simplify: The RES SIMPLIFY project is a project funded by the European Commission on permitting of renewable energy. It is coordinated by the Consultancy Eclareon, partnering with Oeko-Institut, WindEurope and SolarPower Europe. The project aims to speed up the permitting process at a national level for new renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind.