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EUREC - The association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres

EUREC

EUREC, created in 1991, is the leading association of research centres and university departments active in the area of renewable energy.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Nov 2025 · Polysilion

Meeting with Joanna Drake (Deputy Director-General Research and Innovation) and Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.

12 Nov 2025 · Exchange of views on the Commission proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, in particular the proposals for FP10 and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).

Response to Electrification Action Plan

9 Oct 2025

We reply to this call as a group of grid experts from the Horizon Europe project THEUS. The Consortium of 15 beneficiaries has a focus on: research with 4 RTOs and 3 Universities; grids with 2 DSOs and 1 TSO; deployment with equipment manufacturers. THEUS aims to demonstrate a range of advanced methodologies, tools, models, and technologies that support the implementation and operation of hybrid grids across HV, MV and LV levels. These solutions will pave the way for the development of a pan-European AC/DC hybrid system, ensuring reliable energy supply and interoperability. Increasing Europes electrification rate is essential. With rapid RES and battery deployment, it is key to develop future-proof electricity grids and update legislative frameworks. To do this, we urge you to: 1. Fund deployment of hybrid AC/DC networks to better integrate RES and storage A high share of RES generation is either inherently produced as DC (e.g. PV) or is converted into DC (e.g. wind is often rectified into DC). Most emerging storage systems also operate in DC, such as batteries, fuel cells and electric vehicles in V2G mode. Data centres use DC for their IT equipment. The rapid deployment of DC or hybrid AC/DC networks can significantly increase grid efficiencies and reduce the need for new infrastructure by reducing AC/DC conversions. However, existing regulations were tailored for traditional AC systems. Therefore, more EU harmonization is key to integrate hybrid AC/DC networks at a large scale. Moreover, EU funds for deployment in the new MFF should be used to build hybrid AC/DC networks (e.g. CEF and ECF). 2. Develop a regulatory framework for Medium Voltage DC Linked to the previous point, MVDC can provide significant levels of DC power directly to a growing demand of DC loads such as electric vehicles, LED lighting, data centres and electronic equipment. Regarding EVs, hybrid AC/DC grids can support fast DC charging stations, which are considerably faster and more efficient than AC chargers. Unlike HVDC, MVDC remains fragmented and unregulated, where EU-level MVDC standards are urgently needed to unlock these benefits and ensure interoperability across MSs. 3. EU legislation to support deploying grid-forming capabilities to stabilise a RES-centred system Increasing shares of RES and batteries reduce system inertia and fault current, which are essential for grid stability. To address this challenge without hampering RES buildup, EU policy should mandate/incentivise the deployment of grid-forming capabilities across a wide range of assets, such as HVDC links, FACTS devices, power park modules, storage units and synchronous condensers. Grid-forming capabilities allow these assets to actively support system stability by establishing the system voltage as a reference point, contributing fault current so protection systems operate correctly, and providing synthetic inertia to stabilise frequency. They also enable black-start and islanded operation, support stability during system splits, and damp harmonics and imbalances. 4. Leverage THEUS projects results as evidence Over the next 2 years, THEUS outcomes can provide concrete evidence on how hybrid AC/DC networks improve resilience, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of electrification in Europe. Further reading: Hybrid HVACHVDC Grids 10.1109/EEEIC/ICPSEurope64998.2025.11169029 UNIFI, Specifications for Grid-forming Inverter-based Resources https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/Specs%20for%20GFM%20IBRs%20Version%201.pdf NESO, Grid Forming Guidance Note https://www.neso.energy/document/289921/download ENTSO-E, Grid Forming Capability of Power Park Modules https://eepublicdownloads.entsoe.eu/clean-documents/Publications/SOC/20240503_First_interim_report_in_technical_requirements.pdf Requirements and verification procedures for grid-forming units 10.1049/icp.2024.3878
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Meeting with Jan Ceyssens (Cabinet of Commissioner Jessika Roswall)

4 Sept 2025 · 7th European Recycling Conference (ERC 2025) in Hamburg (Germany)

Response to European Data Union Strategy

20 Jul 2025

We welcome the European Commissions interest and heightened importance of data sharing and digitalisation, particularly concerning the use of data in Artificial Intelligence (AI). In order to ensure coherence between policies, infrastructures, and legal instruments on data, clear and comprehensive data sharing policies must be the first step. An effective AI ecosystem can only be built using a large pool of trusted data in a common space. Relevant data should be publicly available, disaggregated (but anonymised for privacy concerns), and stored in accessible and scalable data formats. Applying data-driven digital tools in the form of AI-driven software can optimise O&M strategies and plant designs, ultimately driving down the cost of reaching 2030 targets. Please find our full input to the public consultation in the attached file.
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Response to Evaluation on the operation of the Innovation Fund - 2025

8 Jul 2025

We submit our publicly available report "Advice on the Design of Innovation Fund and Adjacent instruments" to the public consultation: https://realize-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/D7.4_Advice_Design_IF_v5-online.pdf. The source material for this report was one-to-one video call interviews of 30 mins to 1 hour with 15 companies/associations in different renewable energy sectors, some of them winners of funding, some of them not. One finding in the report is that, for at least some RES technologies, like PV, the focus of public funding must first be on the revival of manufacturing. Pushing innovation to industry can happen once significant manufacturing activity has re-established itself..
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Meeting with Kerstin Jorna (Director-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and Environmental Coalition on Standards and

7 Jul 2025 · Letter with 16 signatories for European Competitiveness Fund to deliver climate and energy security for EU citizens and SMEs

Meeting with Kurt Vandenberghe (Director-General Climate Action) and Transport and Environment (European Federation for Transport and Environment) and

13 May 2025 · Clean Industrial Deal to deliver a Joint Decarbonisation and Competitiveness Roadmap

Response to Implementing Act on non-price criteria in renewable energy auctions

17 Feb 2025

The sharing of operational data from renewable energy parks needs to be incentivised with public money. Only this will enable teams seeking to develop better models of wind or PV park behaviour to quickly avail of enough data to train and test their algorithms. This idea needs to feature in the Implementing Regulation for Article 26. This IR is the logical place for it because the incentive could be delivered implicitly by an auction using non-price criteria that lays down a data sharing requirement or makes an offer of (different amounts of) bonus points for (a certain menu of) data sharing options. Clarity in the state aid rules that govern data sharing will be needed. The full position paper is annexed to this contribution.
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Meeting with Silke Dalton (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen), Silvia Bartolini (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen)

21 Jan 2025 · Implementation of Net zero industry act (NZIA)

Response to Communication on revamping the SET Plan

2 Nov 2022

The SET Plan’s two biggest achievement of last five years were 1. to elevate the R&I dimension of energy policy to the level of something Member States must each explain and report on via their National Energy and Climate Plans 2. to launch the Clean Energy Transition Partnership and Driving Urban Transition Partnership. Well done to the European Commission and Member States for those. The work on NECPs can be taken further. The EC found that the NECPs of 2018-19 demonstrated a “severe lack of national objectives and funding targets that show concrete and relevant pathways to 2030 and 2050 [EU decarbonisation targets]”. The next ones due in 2023-24 must address energy R&I better. The EC should require them to contain targets to deploy GWs of innovative technology, and a system to define and update what ‘innovative’ means that could use the infrastructure of the SET Plan. More details are given in our October reports (https://eurec.be/press-release-5-of-new-capacity-from-innovative-renewable-energy-a-necessary-and-do-able-enhancement-to-the-renewable-energy-directive/). Governance: keep it simple Some sectors want better visibility in the SET Plan (see the feedback of RHC ETIP, ESTTP, Hydropower or Hydrogen Europe Research to this public consultation). This will lead to horizontal extension of the SET Plan, and that is fine. There’s no problem with another ETIP appearing that covers an area not already covered by the others; or an IWG that will replace an existing one or cover a new area. Overlap must be minimized, and what must be avoided entirely are new vertical layers between the stakeholders (in ETIPs and IWGs) and the perceived centres of power: the European Commission and the SET Plan Steering Group and the stakeholders. ETIPs’ input to the SET Plan and related work (like public consultations) is often done with significant input from the unpaid volunteer experts in ETIPs. To get them motivated, they need to know their views get straight to decision makers unmediated. Support ETIPs No ETIPs = no SET Plan. ETIPs are central to the SET Plan, writing its foundational documents, Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas. These documents have authority because they are written by a representative group of experts who have not paid for the privilege of providing the input, using a transparent, consultative process that reaches deep into the relevant research communities. ETIPs can only deliver this kind of output if they are supported with public funding.
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Response to 8th Amendment to Annex II to Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles

21 Jun 2022

The European Commission will in Q3 adopt the Digitalisation of Energy Action Plan. The Implementing Regulation on High Value Data Sets was mentioned by DG ENER during its series of workshops held on the Action Plan in February (https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/workshops-digitalisation-energy-system-2022-feb-16_en). For that reason, it surprises us how little attention the Implementation Regulation gives to energy. The public sector accumulates a wealth of data related to energy generation installations’ production that if shared could help understand plant performance better, helping the industry as a whole to optimise O&M and understand the reliability of the plants' components. We think the Implementing Regulation should expand on and develop the idea from this amendment tabled by MEP Eva Maydell on the Renewable Energy Directive (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ITRE-AM-729882_EN.pdf#page=123): Amendment 651 (Article 18 – paragraph 3): "Member States shall require competent bodies to make publicly available datasets with high temporal and spatial resolution relating to the output of installations over 10 MW, and require the owners of such installations to provide this information accurately and a short time after acquisition. The data shall be the power delivered at the grid connection point. Owners, or the competent body on their behalf, will provide installation metadata including plant location and a set of high-resolution copyright-free timestamped photos of the installation and installation sub-systems."
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Meeting with Laure Chapuis (Cabinet of Commissioner Kadri Simson), Tatiana Marquez Uriarte (Cabinet of Commissioner Kadri Simson) and

22 Sept 2021 · Draft Climate, Energy and Environmental State aid Guidelines.

Response to Action plan on the digitalisation of the energy sector

8 Sept 2021

Digitisation has more to offer the energy system than grid management services, important as they are. Sensors, data storage, and AI agents are all cheaper and/or better performing than the last time the EU overhauled its clean energy strategy in 2018-19. They are being used upstream, e.g. in the devices generating electricity for the grid. The Action Plan must devote attention (per third bullet point on p2 of the Roadmap) to the opportunities digitisation offers to this segment of the renewables and clean energy business. Our vision is for massive collection and sharing of data from wind and solar parks, district heating systems and building management systems and many other nodes in the energy system. Inputs and forces on the devices or plants would be compared with outputs or failures, revealing hidden relationships that can be analysed and understood. RED II largely ignored digitisation (although other components of the 2018-19 Clean Energy for All Europeans Package did cover it). The Commission’s RED III proposals have recognised a need for monitoring of grid-connected batteries and sharing of data relevant to the services they can supply to the grid. EUREC is proposing several amendments that take RED III further. The Action Plan should support them by developing ideas for: - NECPs to foster data-sharing using the Common European Energy Data Space - National bodies responsible for administering renewable energy incentives to publish data on the power delivered at grid connection points - Expanding the ETS Innovation Fund’s data-sharing communities beyond ETS Innovation Fund beneficiaries - Allowing State Aid to companies sharing valuable data - Requiring plants built under the EU’s Renewable Energy financing mechanism to share data - Requiring public buildings undergoing renovation as part of the EED’s 3% annual renovation target to share data on energy performance gathered before and after the renovation Bold thinking is needed to create a culture of data-sharing, derive value from the insights from this data and thereby minimise to society the cost of building a climate-neutral energy system. The Action Plan’s recommendations should be taken up by Member States in the 2023 revisions to their NECPs.
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Response to Revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU

22 Mar 2021

///Renewable Heating and Cooling Platform (www.rhc-etip.org)/// ________Better acquisition and use of data for a cost-effective ‘Renovation Wave’___________ The EPBD revision is a great opportunity to update the EPBD to ensure that more and higher quality data is gathered from Europe’s building stock. Since the Commission’s last proposal for EPBD in 2016, - - the necessity of limiting global temperature rises 1.5 °C by mid-century has been demonstrated – ambition for 2030 must be increased; - - the ICT sector (Information and Communications Technology) has continued to innovate. ICT offers huge opportunities to Europe as recognised by the Commission with its push for a ‘Digital Decade’. **Applying ICT to the ‘Renovation Wave’** We support the creation of a “central European repository for reliable data on the building stock and its energy performance and support the design of incentives in this domain” as suggested in the Renovation Wave Communication. This repository would be queried by researchers to i) Optimise the choice of components for energy efficiency and for renewable energy (renewable heating and cooling technologies) in a renovation ii) Monitor real-life performance against predictions . This would be for scientific purposes and in order to honour possible contractual obligations e.g. between a building owner and its renovation contractor **Who pays & who gains?** Sensors, data storage, and AI agents are all cheap… the cost of data gathering and pre-processing will be low, but non-zero. The renovator or the building owner will incur costs in order to provide a collective good. This implies the cost of the ICT system may need to be socialised and possibly paid for with public money. Additionally, individuals who use the building and its systems may need to see the value of their data reflected in a discount on their utility bills or rents. We believe the benefit to science and future renovations outweigh these costs and will deliver the 2030 targets more cheaply as a result. **Need a framework** The future EBPD needs to provide a framework for a partnership between owners, occupiers tenants and scientists for data generation and use. Renovations done with public money should foresee data acquisition in the year preceding and following the renovation. The data would be available for free to anyone . It may be possible to persuade companies undertaking renovations entirely with private money to deposit data in the repository if doing so allows them to download data (e.g. they deposit pre-renovation data and agree to deposit post-renovation data in return for performing queries that help with their renovation). Various possible repositories are mentioned: Digital Building Logbooks and Building Renovation Passports compiled into a European Building Stock Observatory. To that may be added the Common European energy data space. **Bigger is better** The usefulness of the repository depends on it being very large, allowing slight or unexpected correlations to be detected. Residential buildings, which have low renovation rates, seem the most urgent place to start. The quantities to measure would include - - kWh / sq m / year energy consumption (measured more thoroughly than is often the case for Energy Performance Certificates) and in real time - - solar fraction, also in real time - - the output of renewable energy systems - - any significant internal gains or sinks. EU level agreement on datasets and measurements are needed (there is no consensus on ‘solar fraction’, for example. A spill-over benefit of our initiative is that it will firm up such definitions). In the future, we foresee building-level data being combined with information on the minute by minute evolving share of renewable electricity being delivered by the grid and the availability of heat or cooling from district networks to allow a complete optimisation to be performed.
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Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton) and Third Generation Environmentalism Ltd and

22 Mar 2021 · Industrial strategy; green transition

Meeting with Nicolas Schmit (Commissioner) and

27 Nov 2020 · Pact for Skills roundtable with the construction sector.

Meeting with Thierry Breton (Commissioner) and

27 Nov 2020 · High Level Roundtable - Skills for the Construction Sector

Meeting with Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO and Univerza v Ljubljani

22 Jan 2020 · European Green Deal

Meeting with Silvia Bartolini (Cabinet of Vice-President Miguel Arias Cañete)

31 May 2017 · Publication Renewable Energy Research and Innovation

Meeting with Carlos Moedas (Commissioner)

21 Sept 2015 · SET PLAN

Meeting with Maria Da Graca Carvalho (Cabinet of Commissioner Carlos Moedas)

28 Apr 2015 · Meeting with Dr. Weber

Meeting with Silvia Bartolini (Cabinet of Vice-President Miguel Arias Cañete)

8 Jan 2015 · Carbon Leakage