Brussels, 09 Jun 2004
The European Commission has published a report on the Expressions of Interest (EoIs) submitted under the 'sustainable energy systems' thematic priority, which contributed to the mid-term revision of the work programme for this field. The EoIs contained 'few real surprises', according to the report, and demonstrated a 'credible readiness' for forthcoming calls.
The mid-term revision of the work programme is intended to define the technical content of the various research areas and the scope of future calls for proposals. The content of the EoIs received, together with consultations with stakeholders, the advisory group for energy and the programme committee, will form the basis of the topics to be included in future calls for proposals.
A total of 451 EoIs were received, 419 of which were eligible for analysis. The objective was 'to identify from individual clusters of EoIs, researcher topics which are ready for inclusion in the work programme for the third call for proposals,' according to the Commission report. Another aim was to 'assess the level of ambition and critical mass associated with each research topic, as well as the degree of readiness of potential proposers, and to what extent the topic can integrate different kinds of actions, such as research, demonstration, training, take-up, dissemination, etc.' The results of this assessment assist the Commission in deciding which instruments are best suited to each research topic.
Of the 419 EoIs examined, 67 addressed biomass, making it the most popular activity area. Other topics addressed, in order of the number of EoIs received, were: photovoltaics, 'other renewable energies', fuel cells, electricity, CO2 capture and storage, hydrogen and socio-economics.
Some 39 per cent of EoIs were submitted by governmental organisations, while the majority of the rest came from either private commercial entities or private non-profit organisations. Most EoIs outlined proposals in the funding range of two to five million euro.
Germany tops the country league, being the originator of 78 EoIs submitted under this call. France is in second position with 49, while the Netherlands submitted the third highest number of EoIs - 42. The new Member States were not well represented, with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia each submitting one EoI each.
Some of the topics considered relevant and mature enough to generate good proposals are: development of low cost High Temperature FC systems and components with improved performance; advanced concepts for electrochemical hydrogen production; large scale, clean, cost-effective hydrogen production from pre-combustion decarbonisation of fossil fuels; preparing the future electricity transmission network; and advanced techniques for low cost thin-film cells and modules for their industrial mass production. A full list of topics is available in the Commission report.
To access the Commission's report on the analysis of EoIs, please visit: http://www.cordis.lu/sustdev/energy/eoi_ srch.htm
Item source: http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?C ALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN= EN_RCN_ID:22141