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European Energy Research Alliance aisbl

EERA

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is a membership-based, non-profit association, constituting the largest low-carbon energy research community in Europe and a key player in the European Union's Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, as its reserach pillar.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Advanced Materials Act

13 Jan 2026

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is Europes largest low-carbon energy research community, uniting over 250 organisations across more than 30 countries. Its mission is to catalyse low-carbon energy research in support of science-based policymaking and world-class innovation. EERA welcomes the Commissions forthcoming Advanced Materials (AMs) Act, which aims to strengthen Europes competitiveness and strategic autonomy through AMs development and deployment. AMs are key to the clean energy transition, underpinning essential technologies. Photo- and electro-catalysts for CO conversion and green hydrogen production support emissions reduction, while stimuli-responsive materials for smart windows, sensors and soft robotics enhance energy efficiency. Magnetic materials drive electrification in transport, industry and consumer uses, while advanced nuclear and other structural materials operating under extreme conditions remain crucial for nuclear energy, concentrated solar power, bioenergy and hydrogen technologies. From EERAs view, the Act must primarily address ongoing challenges in market access, commercialisation and industrial uptake of AMs research, for which we recommend creating and supporting intermediate bodies dedicated to scaling AMs research outcomes and accelerating the lab to fab transition. To this end, the Act should engage industrial sectors with high raw materials needs, e.g. steelmaking, to improve research-to-industry pathways, while enabling testing of AMs in suitable environments, incl. (fast neutron) irradiation to achieve innovative solutions taking measured risks. In EERAs analysis, gaps persist across all TRLs, esp. in translating TRL 34 developments to TRL 67, critical for Europes innovation and competitiveness. Demonstration activities across TRL 48, incl. forging, tubing, welding and additive manufacturing for nuclear and high-temperature components, require sustained support and investment. Such demonstration projects should be designed with long operational lifetimes, be scientifically supervised and allow optimisation during operation, adapting materials to real-world conditions and testing alternatives, incl. those relying on fewer CRMs. EERA hence calls for funding a limited number of large-scale collaborative initiatives, incl. Strategic Material Demonstrator Projects, alongside direct funding, targeted tax measures and subsidies to support the AMs value chain. Policy support should be further strengthened through a reinforced role for the Technology Council for AMs, allowing best-practice sharing, resolving bottlenecks and improving coordination across the innovation chain. Accelerating validation, certification and standardisation processes will also speed up innovation uptake, as will access to high-quality research infrastructures, (fast neutron) irradiation facilities, specialised equipment and EU-wide testing and manufacturing facilities, which are key esp. for start-ups and SMEs. Cross-border collaboration and digitalisation, incl. HPC and AI, should be further strengthened to enhance R&I in AMs across the EU. Regulatory sandboxes for materials innovation should be expanded for controlled testing, while innovation zones could support early design and licensing experimentation and benchmarking, aligning innovation with sustainability and safety requirements. Finally, the Act should promote circularity and sustainability through recycling, reuse and alternatives to hazardous materials. Investment in human capital, incl. skills development, interdisciplinary training and international exchanges, remains essential to support the deployment of emerging materials that meet societal needs. Clear monitoring, based on robust indicators and aligned with existing and forthcoming frameworksincl. the Euratom Research Framework, SNETP/ESNII, STEP, the EU Innovation Act and Framework Programme 10is vital to ensure coherence and maximise impact.
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Meeting with Philippe Lamberts (Principal Adviser Inspire, Debate, Engage and Accelerate Action)

3 Dec 2025 · Keynote speech on the state of play of the EGD/CID in the current (geo)political context

Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for competitiveness

12 Nov 2025

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is Europes largest low-carbon energy research community, uniting over 250 leading organisations from more than 30 countries. Its mission is to catalyse low-carbon energy research to shape science-based policies and drive world-class innovation. Against this backdrop, EERA strongly supports the European Commissions call for evidence on the EUs next long-term budget (MFF), focusing on funds that underpin Europes competitiveness. In this respect, EERA believes, first and foremost, that the competitiveness to be promoted must be sustainable competitiveness, recognising that lasting economic strength depends on integrating environmental and social dimensions. Within this perspective, EERA calls on the Commission to reinforce that low-carbon energy research and innovation (R&I) is central to Europes competitiveness strategy, as it is key to bridging Europes innovation gap with global competitors, particularly in the fast-growing clean technology markets. In this context, the Commissions proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 20282034 is a welcome recognition of the strategic importance of R&I. However, once adjusted for inflation, the 175 billion allocation for the EUs 10th Framework Programme (FP10) within it represents only a modest real-terms increase and remains below the 200220 billion requested by the research community and by the Draghi and Heitor reports. As the EU continues to fall short of its 3% GDP R&D investment target, reaching this level of funding is essential to strengthen Europes global standing, accelerate technological progress and keep climate goals within reach. It is also important that the R&I budget be securely ring-fenced to prevent reallocation during implementation. Furthermore, EERA welcomes the creation of the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), expected to operate in close coordination with FP10. The ECF offers an opportunity to enhance synergies across funding instruments and the entire TRL scale, fostering a more coherent R&I landscape while reducing administrative burdens. While greater coordination is desirable, EERA cautions that the ECF should not lead to a top-down approach and instead advocates a researcher-driven governance model. Clarity is also needed on how the ECF and FP10 will be tightly connected in practice, and whether it will include Euratom-related activities. EERA stresses that both the ECF and FP10 must be key instruments for advancing the clean energy transition. In this respect, it welcomes the ECF policy window on Clean Transition and Industrial Decarbonisation, with 25.331 billion allocated to FP10s Part II, Chapter IV. Yet, while this represents 14.5% of the total budget, Horizon Europe dedicates 16% to Climate, Energy & Mobility, suggesting a relative decline: a concerning signal given Europes climate ambitions. EERA also supports the requirement that 35% of the overall budget contribute to climate action and environmental objectives. However, while this equates to roughly 700 billion, it marks a decrease compared with previous combined allocations for climate and biodiversity, and the absorption of the LIFE Programme into the ECF risks diluting these priorities. Finally, the proposal allocates 75.876 billion to FP10s Pillar II. While this is an increase from 53.516 billion under Horizon Europe, its share of the total budget falls from 56% to 43.4%. EERA believes that collaborative research under Pillar II has proven crucial in addressing global challenges and strengthening Europes industrial competitiveness and must therefore remain a central pillar of FP10, calling for it to represent at least 60% of the FP10 budget. The growing emphasis on scaling up technologies and market deployment must in fact by no means undermine the need to keep the innovation funnel well-nourished to safeguard Europes long-term competitiveness and capacity for breakthrough innovation.
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Response to Roadmap for artificial intelligence and digitalisation for energy (RAID-E)

5 Nov 2025

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) constitutes the largest low-carbon energy research community in Europe and beyond, bringing together over 250 leading organisations from more than 30 countries, with the mission of catalysing Europes low-carbon energy research to shape science-based policies and advance world-class innovation. With this purpose in mind, EERA embarked on an exercise with a group of experts to develop policy recommendations to harness the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the European energy sector, in alignment with the EU Strategic Roadmap's objectives. AI offers significant opportunities to enhance the efficiency, flexibility, and decarbonization of Europe's energy systems. However, significant challenges persist. These include, among others, fragmented, often overlapping research and AI utilization efforts, a lack of high-quality data and its interoperability, critical barriers to scaling solutions from pilot projects to system-wide deployment across the EU, and many sustainability concerns. To navigate these complexities of AI adoption in the European energy sector, EERA puts forth a series of actionable policy recommendations, centered on three core pillars: 1. Establishing a coordinated governance to promote responsible innovations of AI in the energy sector through legitimization and strategic investments: We recommend creating the EU AI in Energy Mission Board to coordinate strategic funding of collaborations for innovations among policymakers, academics, and industry, including start-ups, within sandbox environments and wide promotion of legitimate, responsible best practices and use cases. This would enable responsible innovations, reduce fragmentation, and maximize the scalability and impact of EU strategic investments in the AI infrastructure with the circular approach and research-proofed algorithm development. 2. Developing secure data and innovation ecosystems: Implement the European Energy Data Space to guarantee the development of meaningful data measures to train AI algorithms, secure, interoperable data access, and utilization of EU-wide AI Energy Testbeds to validate solutions, test interoperability, secure sensitive data, and accelerate the transition from research to deployment. 3. Developing AI in energy competencies: Require lifecycle sustainability assessments (energy, carbon, and water use) for large-scale AI deployments in energy infrastructure. Develop EU-tailored AI models and algorithms for energy management within policy frameworks, academic rigor, and regulatory supervision. Simultaneously, launch education and awareness campaigns to increase awareness about trustworthy AI in energy sector solutions and the benefits of choosing and using them, and build the necessary capabilities and mindset for responsible AI adoption, capturing emerging economic development and employment opportunities. By adopting a coordinated, stakeholder-focused, research-led, circular approach to AI adoption in the energy sector, the EU can steer the deployment of AI in energy towards a future that is not only efficient and supportive of emerging innovations but also secure, transparent, and sustainable. The complete EERA analysis and recommendations will become publicly available by 3 December 2025.
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Response to European Innovation Act

3 Oct 2025

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) constitutes the largest low-carbon energy research community in Europe and beyond, bringing together over 250 leading organisations from more than 30 countries, with the mission of catalysing European energy research for a climate-neutral society by 2050. In this regard, EERA strongly welcomes the forthcoming EU Innovation Act initiative, which, in its overarching objectives, places strong emphasis on the role of research and innovation (R&I) in translating scientific progress into real-world applications that enhance EU competitiveness and deliver broader societal benefits. EERA concurs with the key challenges identified for the Act in enabling innovations to reach the market. Among the most pressing, in its view, are the lack of strategic investment and the need to de-risk industrial technologies; regulatory and market barriers hindering innovation; the mismatch between industry skills and education schemes; limited access to research infrastructures; and the fragmented governance of the EU R&I ecosystem. To address these, EERA calls on the EU Innovation Act to recognise, first and foremost, the pivotal role of low-carbon energy research and innovation in achieving the EUs objectives of competitiveness, strategic autonomy, and resilience, and to explicitly include it within the Acts scope for clear and targeted recognition. EERA further recommends that the Innovation Act prioritise the defragmentation of existing mechanisms that facilitate the transition from research to market by creating integrated innovation ecosystems. These ecosystems should foster closer collaboration between research institutions, industry, government agencies, and societal stakeholders, and play a central role in implementing joint R&I and industrial roadmaps covering research, development, market uptake, and scale-up. They should also be empowered to support industrial-scale pilots at the European level and living labs for higher-risk innovations, thereby accelerating the commercialisation and deployment of new technologies. Regarding financing, EERA generally supports the European Commissions efforts to unlock private capital to leverage investment in innovative technologies and to maximise the impact of public procurement in accelerating the deployment of near-market solutions. At the same time, it stresses that such attention to private capital and public procurement should not be confined exclusively to the highest stages of the TRL spectrum, as maintaining adequate funding across all TRLs is essential to ensure the continuous emergence of new ideas and to keep the innovation funnel active. EERA also underlines the importance of improving access to research infrastructures across Europe, where significant barriers remain, including administrative burden and high costs, particularly for SMEs. To overcome these, EERA calls for single access points one-stop shops at the pan-European level to streamline procedures and reduce fragmentation. Targeted funding should also be made available to SMEs to ensure equitable access, and comprehensive, easily accessible information must be provided to guide them in reaching and using these infrastructures. Finally, EERA stresses the importance of aligning the EU Innovation Act with other strategic initiatives, namely the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and the forthcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act, with clear links to Framework Programme 10s new ERA Pillar IV to be established. Such alignment will be key to improving the coordination of innovation policies, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and ensuring overall coherence in broader policy objectives and funding.
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Response to European Research Area (ERA) Act

10 Sept 2025

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is the largest low-carbon energy research community in Europe and beyond, comprising over 250 leading organisations from more than 30 countries, with the mission of catalysing European energy research for a climate-neutral society by 2050. EERA welcomes the European Commissions proposal to put forward an ERA Act in the third quarter of 2026, aimed at addressing fragmentation and administrative barriers within the EUs research and innovation landscape and thereby realising the so-called fifth freedom highlighted in the landmark 2024 Letta report on the future of the Single Market. To ensure the ERA Act fully realises its potential, EERA puts forward the following policy recommendations. As the formal research pillar of the EUs Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan), EERA has extensive experience in aligning national and EU funding priorities, supporting collaboration on strategic research objectives, and strengthening cooperation between research institutions. This positions EERA as a key defragmentation engine on which the ERA Act should build. It will also be important for the new ERA Act to ensure consistency with the Framework Programme 10 (FP10) currently in preparation (Horizon Europe 2.0), where a proposed Pillar IV is dedicated to strengthening the European Research Area, thereby promoting coherence across EU research initiatives. In line with this focus, the ERA Act should also support European collaborative and integrated energy system modelling exercises, which are essential for addressing fragmentation. In this context, EERA recommends considering the establishment of an EU Energy Strategy Agency tasked with developing energy transition scenarios and supporting energy security planning. Mechanisms must also be developed to ensure that EU Member States meet their long-standing commitment to spend 3% of GDP on research and development. This is essential to accelerate technological progress, enhance Europes global competitiveness, and achieve the Unions energy transition and climate objectives, with particular attention to supporting research across all Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Greater alignment and predictability of EU and national public funding will also help mobilise higher levels of private investment by creating a stable and attractive environment for the private sector. Equally important is making academic careers attractive and safeguarding scientific freedom to fully realise the ERAs potential, through open science, researchers mobility, data and infrastructure sharing, and equal opportunities. These principles are fundamental to the success and competitiveness of the European research and innovation ecosystem. Enhancing the EUs attractiveness is also key to drawing international researchers, with initiatives such as Choose Europe playing a crucial role. In particular, in the energy and climate domains, the recent reduction in US participation in related research programmes has regrettably led to a slowing of collective progress towards key global objectives, yet these developments also represent a pivotal moment for the EU to rise to the challenge by taking a leading role in shaping research and innovation that drives both scientific insight and practical solutions in these fields. To fully realise the ERAs potential, the Act should ensure that interdisciplinary approaches, including the social sciences and humanities (SSH), are integrated into research programmes to address the societal, economic, and behavioural dimensions of the energy transition. In the same vein, EERA recommends that the ERA Act should help remove remaining barriers to the full integration of Euratom activities within the overall energy research and innovation landscape. Finally, clear metrics and monitoring mechanisms should be established to assess progress on defragmentation, collaboration, and research excellence across the EU.
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Meeting with Kurt Vandenberghe (Director-General Climate Action)

16 Jan 2025 · the obvious role EERA plays in advancing EU’s reaching its climate objectives.

Meeting with Ville Niinistö (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

25 Nov 2024 · EU research policy

Meeting with Marc Lemaitre (Director-General Research and Innovation)

18 Oct 2023 · Keynote address, and an interactive discussion at the EERA Executive Committee Meeting on 18 October 2023.

Response to Net Zero Industry Act

27 Jun 2023

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is an association of European public research centres and universities with the mission to catalyse European energy research for a climate-neutral society by 2050. Bringing together more than 250 organisations from 32 countries, it is Europe's largest energy research community. Recognising the pivotal role of net-zero technologies in achieving decarbonisation objectives, EERA actively supports the aim of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) as proposed by the European Commission on last 16 March to enhance the competitiveness and resilience of the EU's industrial base for an affordable, reliable, and sustainable clean energy system. In this context and as the voice of the clean energy research community in Europe, EERA would like to present the following points for consideration in the unfolding NZIA legislative process: 1) The proposal does not sufficiently recognise the importance of R&I as a tool when major changes occur in a short time frame. This role is nevertheless essential to: a. Carry out successfully and effectively quality-assurance and de-risking processes; b. Work with the industry in building new and resilient value chains; c. Support private and public decision-making to enhance the overall systems competitiveness. 2) Although the focus of the proposal is on the industry, R&I should be further acknowledged for its contribution to the lower range of Technology Readiness Levels (TRL 1-8), as these constitute crucial stages in the development and commercialisation of innovative clean energy technologies. 3) Appropriate funding opportunities must be guaranteed to ensure rapid and successful implementation of the proposed measures. In this respect, it is key that those funding opportunities answer the needs of the EU's clean research community and, therefore, benefit technologies at a lower TRL to ensure their development and advancement. Furthermore, teaching, applied research and market introduction should be the object of dedicated funding lines because of their potential to drive innovation and create job opportunities. 4) The proposal should further emphasise the need for a holistic approach and ensure compatibility and synergies with other policy and regulatory streams in line with the 2030 and 2050 EU climate and energy goals. 5) The role of circularity in the proposal is crucial and should be further strengthened as it is key to scale-up the European clean tech industry in a context of scarcity of the critical products and components needed for the green and digital transitions in the energy sector. 6) The Act should further clarify what it is meant by "industrial manufacturing for clean energy technologies, as many specific technologies are indirectly key to developing clean tech (such as cable, steel, or chemical manufacturing) but do not seem to fall under the scope of the NZIA and do not appear in the text or its annexes, despite the vulnerabilities and bottlenecks that exist within these supply chains. 7) The regulation should provide more clearly defined ways to facilitate licensing and permitting processes for clean tech manufacturing, including concrete targets and a clear path that ensures social acceptance. This can be achieved through cooperative efforts with local actors, professional mediation when necessary, and establishing risk-reducing long-term agreements and contracts. 8) Regulatory sandboxes need to be connected with technology infrastructures such as test beds, pilot lines, and living labs. Strategic investments in technology infrastructures are essential for facilitating the scaling up of prototypes and driving the market uptake of innovative technology solutions. In this context, the relevant local innovation ecosystem plays a crucial role as it should actively support the competent authority in designing and developing specific plans for the sandboxes.
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Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

19 Jun 2023

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is an association of European public research centres and universities with the mission to catalyse European energy research for a climate-neutral society by 2050. Bringing together more than 250 organisations from 32 countries, it is Europe's largest energy research community. Given the strategic importance of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the green and digital transitions, EERA welcomes efforts to ensure CRM availability in the EU. With the anticipated increase in demand for these elements driven by the clean energy transition (CET), EERA recognises the significance of the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) published by the European Commission on last 16 March. In this context, it would like to present the following points for consideration in the unfolding CRMA legislative process: 1) The proposal mainly emphasises industrial policy and lacks specific provisions for recognising and enhancing the role of R&I in ensuring CRM availability. This contribution is nevertheless crucial and needs specific acknowledgement as key to: 1.a) Increasing the supply mix (mining, refining, re-use, recycling, side stream valorisation); 1.b) Decreasing demand by increasing resource efficiency through circular product design and substitutions with renewable/non-critical materials; 1.c) Scaling up technologies that require fewer CRMs/CRMs that are already available in Europe; 1.d) Minimising the usage of CRMs through materials research, fostering higher recyclability, using alternative-to-mining ways of extracting critical minerals and promoting the substitution of CRMs with non-critical ones; 1.e.) Improving sustainability and efficiency in the CRM value chain, incl. CRM mining and extraction from discarded products; 2) The emphasis on circularity is crucial and should be strengthened, e.g., by establishing a preferential framework for recycled, reused, or repurposed CRMs. European-wide targets should be set to increase the collection of waste with high CRM recovery potential and promote the re-use and repurposing of products and components; 3) Environmental, social, and governance standards for global CRM mining should be improved to align with the European circular economy and green deal objectives by, e.g., addressing circular product design, which is currently absent from the proposed regulation; 4) Specific provisions should be foreseen on energy system and integrated assessment models used for the CET scenario-planning in the EU and nationally, for them to include raw materials and minerals in the modelling structures in connection to each clean energy technology; 5) Based on the level of dependence of the clean energy technologies and energy carriers (e.g. hydrogen) on a given CRM, it will be essential to include measures assigning a CRM vulnerability coefficient to each technology to understand better which technologies are associated with higher levels of CRM vulnerability; 6) Focus should be put on piloting and scale-up of needed technologies (TRLs 5-7) to bring them to the market soon through a strategic development investment plan for technology infrastructures at the EU level that would leverage the national investments and join forces with the various European centres of excellence; 7) It would be beneficial to co-develop the R&I agenda with the established European networks that bring together all actors along the relevant CRM value chains as well as to ensure that citizens and other relevant stakeholders are engaged in the implementation of the Act; 8) As secondary CRM resources alone will be insufficient to meet future demand, even with full circularity, primary sourcing of CRMs should prioritise deposits and mining technologies that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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Response to Revision of the EU’s electricity market design

23 May 2023

The European Energy Research Alliance is an association of European public research centres and universities with the mission to catalyse European energy research for a climate-neutral society by 2050. Bringing together more than 250 organisations from 32 countries, EERA is Europe's largest energy research community. Building on its vast pool of expertise and given the strategic importance of the Electricity Market Design (EMD) reform proposed by the European Commission on last 14 March to effectively carry out the clean energy transition by addressing existing distortions, protecting more consumers, and incentivising investments in renewables, EERA would like to put forward the following points for consideration in the evolution of the legislative process: - It is crucial for the final text to better recognise the role that clean energy research could play in ensuring that the future EU electricity market is well-suited to respond to the new economic, social and geopolitical context, for instance, by developing new and in some cases not even yet foreseen, clean energy technologies for energy storage, demand response and grid flexibility, supporting knowledge creation regarding the current system and its weaknesses as well as exploiting digital technologies to support the accelerated discovery and uptake of new focussed energy solutions; - The provisions setting out the need for tariff methodologies to incentivise transmission and distribution system operators to use flexibility services through further developing innovative solutions to optimise the ¬¬existing grid and to procure flexibility services, in particular, demand response or storage are highly welcome. Yet, as they seem to be the only ones explicitly linking research and industry in the current proposal, it will be key to include measures providing an adequate framework for investments both in the deployment and in the research on these crucial technologies in order to make the electricity market fit for the upscaling of electricity from renewable sources; - It will be of capital importance to acknowledge that R&I is essential also for designing new business models and studying the effects of social innovation. Modelling research, in particular, can provide insights on how to improve the EMD, as it contributes to a better understanding of imperfect markets and gain a deeper comprehension of the energy system; - Synergies between research and industry will need to be carefully investigated as concerns delivery challenges, the move from testing to commercialisation, the development of the required technical and business skills to carry out the reform as well as its socio-economic impacts; - The reform's ultimate objective should be to limit price risks, particularly for vulnerable users requiring protection against significant price fluctuations. Forward hedging could play a role in an effective strategy; however, it is important to consider additional solutions, such as passive subscription and reliability options, which can address price variations without undermining the incentives provided by ST markets; - Consistency of national choices will need to be ensured since EU Member States will play an important role in devising national support instruments for investments in the power system, in setting objectives for non-fossil flexibility and in identifying appropriate measures in both the short and the long-term to shield consumers against high price spikes.
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Response to European Critical Raw Materials Act

22 Nov 2022

The European Energy Research Alliance is an association of European public research centres and universities with the mission to catalyse European energy research for a climate-neutral society by 2050. Bringing together more than 250 organisations from 30 countries, EERA is Europe's largest energy research community. Building on its vast pool of expertise and giving the strategic importance of critical raw materials to effectively carry out the green and digital transitions, EERA would like to put forward a few key points assessed as strategic to be included in the upcoming European Critical Raw Materials (CRM) Act. More in detail: 1) Ensure that the CRM Act development is approached in a holistic manner - Design policy and funding frameworks to help strengthen the links between CRM research and industry communities. - Ensure that energy system models and integrated assessment models used for the clean energy transition scenario-planning in the EU and nationally include raw materials and minerals in the modelling structures in connection to each clean energy technology. - Based on the level of dependence of the clean energy technologies and energy carriers (e.g. hydrogen) on the CRM, develop a CRM vulnerability coefficient to be assigned to each technology to understand better which technologies are associated with higher levels of CRM vulnerability. - Ensure timely development of skills and expertise required to develop CRM capacity in the EU/internationally. - Plan the CRM strategy in the EU considering the CRM supply in connection to the CRM demand, as well as the circularity of CRM. - Conduct regular assessments of potential vulnerabilities of supply chains and potential collective responses. - Scale up R&I support for CRM in the EU and enlarge the CRM research community, (currently very limited and facing a lot of competition from resource-rich third countries outside the EU. 2) Ensure CRM availability - Facilitate scaling up sustainable CRM extraction in the EU, incl. from CRM contained in discarded products. - Create a favourable investment framework for developing a sustainable raw materials supply chain within the EU. - Promote the implementation of circular design and life cycle management initiatives for minimising CRM usage (e.g. longer product life span, reuse, remanufacture, dematerialization, from products to services). - Create a favourable investment and policy framework for CRM recycling and recovery sectors. - Boost material research to minimise the usage of CRM, foster higher recyclability of critical minerals, use alternative-to-mining ways of extracting critical minerals and promote their substitution by non-critical materials. - Ensure the availability of FAIR data on raw materials in the EU and mapping the CRM in the EU Member States (MS). 3) Ensure sustainable practice of CRM development - Integrate sustainable practices in CRM development that affect the local and regional environment. - Mainstream sustainable CRM mining and processing globally and higher environmental, social and governance standards. - Mainstream available sustainability assessment tools and approaches in the CRM development sector in the EU and globally to minimise negative environmental and social impacts of CRM mining and processing. - Ensure continuous R&I on improving CRM mining and processing standards. - Ensure consistent reporting frameworks for CRM mining and processing companies globally. - Ensure citizens and other relevant stakeholders' engagement at the earliest stages of the development of CRM projects to prevent public opinion from hindering an accelerated energy transition. 4) Ensure CRM market security in the EU - Consider pan-EU CRM procurement schemes from non-EU suppliers instead of the procurement at MS or company level. - Consider creating "strategic reserves" of CRMs at the EU level to "shave" price peaks and inhibit speculation from international markets.
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Response to Communication on revamping the SET Plan

31 Oct 2022

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is the research pillar of the SET Plan since its inception in 2008, founded to establish a joint programming framework at the EU level and foster the alignment of the R&I agendas of the Member States and Associated Countries (MS/ACs) with the Plans priorities. Through its 18 Joint Programmes (JPs), it coordinates research activities on energy transition and low-carbon energy technologies from ca. 250 leading research institutes and universities across 30 European countries. EERA has been historically involved in all SET Plan activities and actively contributes to its Implementation Working Groups (IWGs). In this context, it is putting forward its views on the revamp process through high-level recommendations, governance and content-related. More details and operational considerations are included in the annex to this reply. Governance - 1) EERA: a strategic pillar of the revamped SET Plan: The SET Plan constitutes a unique platform for increased EU joint programming, key to deliver on the Green Deal by consolidating EU leadership in strategic industries. Against this background, it will be crucial not only to maintain EERA as the formal research pillar of the revamped SET Plan, but also to place it in a strategic position to facilitate increased dialogue with the Plan's main stakeholders. This could be achieved by granting EERA an advisory or observer role in the Steering Group of the revamped governance structure. Such a role would further leverage EERAs strategic input to the Clean Energy Transition building upon its demonstrated key contribution to the SET Plan and the SRIA of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership. Governance 2) Use instruments for SET Plan execution and the support to the IWGs and ETIPs: The revamped SET Plan should allow for more and better-designed public support for energy technology R&D&I that facilitates the execution of the IPs. The funding schemes for executing the SET Plan should be structured as "mission-oriented" initiatives with a clear goal for a quantified impact, flexible concerning the type of co-funding. IWGs and ETIPs should continue to be supported by e.g. CSAs, which have proved to be key in coordinating research, industry and MS/ACs. Content 1) A new mission-oriented approach centred on cross-cutting collaboration: The revamped SET Plan should be shaped along the lines of a mission-oriented approach based on cross-cutting collaboration among all IWGs through the creation of temporary task forces (TFs). Such TFs will allow delivering effectively on the short, medium, and long-term energy priorities and enable a closer link across industry, MS/ACs and research and thus go beyond the initial silos-based structure of the SET Plan. Digitalisation and SSH could be regarded, a. o., as examples of cross-cutting collaboration. Content - 2) Country climate and energy strategies as a concrete tool for better alignment between EU and MS: The elaboration and implementation of MS/ACs climate and energy strategies (such as the NECPs) need to be carried out coherently with the redefined high-level SET Plan objectives of climate neutrality and support the deployment of the low carbon technologies across Europe. To this end, each strategy should be more prescriptive on foreseen climate and energy measures and policies to be implemented to reach the proposed national targets. Content 3) Increased effectiveness of EU13 countries onboarding: The overall participation of EU13 countries in the SET Plan and framework programmes can in some cases be still significantly improved compared to the EU14. The revamped SET Plan needs to address these shortcomings by foreseeing both a long-term structural approach and tailor-made mechanisms to foster dialogue among the different research institutions in the EU. All while making the mutual benefits connected to increased participation of EU13 countries in the SET Plan and EC framework programmes more explicit.
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Response to Review of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency

18 Nov 2021

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to review the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). While generally in agreement with the approach followed, EERA wishes nevertheless to bring to the EU decision makers’ attention a set of elements for further consideration. The first main point relates to the missing out on the concept of energy sufficiency. The application of such principle leads in fact to decisions favouring activities and services that are intrinsically low on energy use and, when applied in combination with energy efficiency, it gives way to minimising the rebound effect often associated with gains in energy efficiency. Energy sufficiency should therefore be granted a prominent role in the revised EDD to result into a key emission abatement lever together with energy efficiency. A second consideration regards the links between research and industry activities as there lies one of the biggest potentials in energy efficiency practices. In EERA’s opinion, the revised EED only partially succeeds in considering industry as a key sector where to deploy more effective measures for energy efficiency by touching on industry-related points mainly in relation to the insulation of buildings and heating and cooling technologies and failing to mention any detail on how to make industrial processes more energy efficient. Another important missing part relates to the dependency of EU industrial processes on natural gas reserves originating from outside of Europe, the current recast being a good opportunity to tackle this topic given its strategic importance for energy supply and use. EERA wishes then to partially contrast the statement according to which industry has been until now at the forefront of energy efficiency improvements in the EU. While it is true that most countries have decreased their energy consumption levels over the last years, not only industry’s energy efficiency has not been decreasing at a similar rate in all countries but also the overall EU goals have not been achieved. In 2019, the EU was still 2.6% above the 2020 target for energy efficiency and while, improvements have been registered, the unsuccessful result should be recognised and addressed properly. The proposal besides does not mention that industry should already start the transition to existing cost-effective savings potentials. Even though less cost-effective, it is important to stress that any increase in energy efficiency represents already a necessary step forward for most industrial processes. With regard to the management of energy audits, EERA would like this measure to be explained in more practical details, e.g., indicating the competent authorities and a describing clearly how to implement the formal checks. Some EU countries have signed agreements with industries on energy saving investments but have failed to provide certified measures that compel the industrial complex to comply with the agreements. As a result, the follow up has been less than satisfactory. In this case, the reformulation of Article 11 in the proposed recast text represents a first step in the right direction. The intention of increasing the annual energy savings obligations is an important feature of the new proposal, but it will be key to make sure that the new 2024-2030 target is in line with the ambitions of the EU. Eventually, the EC should consider requesting member states to produce EED-related plans for upcoming actions. This requirement would compel companies to provide formal intentions of achieving the required targets, getting the EU closer to its goal of increasing the efficiency of its energy sector.
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Response to Action plan on the digitalisation of the energy sector

8 Sept 2021

The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), Europe’s largest energy research community, strongly supports the European Commission’s proposal to establish an Action Plan on the digitalisation of the energy sector as it is a key domain to attain the EU climate objectives. The Roadmap touches on many important points, giving an overview of the value of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the energy sector and their impact on energy management and energy systems integration. In this context, EERA considers that the Roadmap fails to grant enough emphasis to the direct benefits of digitalisation of energy sources, which among others include a boost to the efficiency of the system. Digital technologies can in fact be used in the modelling phase of energy installations and improve the calculation of peak cycles. Among the challenges the current Roadmap aims at tackling, EERA proposes the inclusion of the FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital assets). These are crucial in addressing the capacity of computational systems to interact with data reducing human intervention to its minimum, a key development in the deployment of digitalisation for the energy system. The environmental and societal impacts deriving from digitalisation are also essential to consider. They may be the spill over effects resulting from an increased use of energy and carbon-intensive resources and the potential widening of social inequalities associated with the access to and use of digital technologies. As such, EERA welcomes the Roadmap’s focus on citizens and their active participation in the energy system and considers as fundamental the inclusion of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) in drafting the final Action Plan. FAIR principles can play a role in this effort, increasing the levels of transparency and trust toward the digitalisation of the energy sector. In particular, when it comes to the involvement of citizens, the Action Plan can build on the provision contained in the EU Directives 2018/2001 and 2019/944, which strengthen the role of individual and collective prosumers, e.g. through establishing energy communities. A way of organising collective energy activities through an open and democratic system, they seek to combine sustainability by the triple bottom-line – economic, environmental and social – and foster a culture of innovation which should be acknowledged and promoted in the Action Plan. Dealing with the decarbonisation of the energy system, the Action Plan puts the emphasis on the energy efficiency of ICT processes to ensure the transition to greener practices. However, several studies have demonstrated that simply considering the energy and carbon efficiency alone is not compatible with a two-degree goal. To achieve a wider objective, material efficiency and replacement of current supplies with low-carbon materials will be essential in the energy sector. Ultimately, the Roadmap mentions the focus on hydrogen, natural gas, and renewable energies in general. The developments in these sectors will still require an improvement in the energy storage capacity of the EU, as an essential link towards the maximum efficiency of the whole energy supply chain. Therefore, EERA strongly calls to take energy storage into account as one of the main areas for intervention in the final Action Plan. To conclude, digitalisation is a major transformative force that will enable a range of pervasive innovations across all economic sectors and activities. EERA is convinced that the digitalisation of the energy system will be fundamental to reaching the ultimate goal of climate neutrality by 2050, and time is ripe to step up action in this most topical field. As such, EERA will be ready to take a proactive approach in securing a smooth deployment of the Action Plan among the low-carbon energy research community.
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Response to Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe

12 May 2021

EERA’s feedback on the European Commission’s Roadmap for the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) strongly supports the European Commission’s renewed commitment to building a stronger European Research Area (ERA) that is fit for current and upcoming challenges, both at European and global level. The twin green and digital transition calls for a stronger and more resilient European Research and Innovation (R&I) landscape, as well as for deeper integration between national R&I policies. Within this framework, EERA welcomes the European Commission’s open consultation on the EC Roadmap for the Pact for R&I in Europe and would like to put forward in this respect the following comments and considerations. First of all, EERA believes that it is of utmost importance to guarantee an enhanced alignment of R&I investments and reforms at national and EU level. To do so, a more solid collaboration between the European Institutions and the research community is needed and should, therefore, be taken into account within the Pact. Researchers can contribute to national plans bringing forward the scientific community’s perspective, ensuring that funds will be allocated to those fields where technological breakthroughs are crucial to reach some of the most pressing objectives of the EU.  Furthermore, Member States with lower R&I spending and lower performance in training their researchers should be supported through robust, targeted pan-European initiatives striving to develop excellence in research. In this regard, a collaborative process to spread good practices on the efficient use of resources across European countries should be established. Building on existing capacities, the goal can be achieved by developing an extensive and efficient networking framework engaging a multitude of organisations and research centres across Europe, at different dimensions and levels.   New opportunities for talent growing in the EU must be created, and existing ones reinforced.  To reach this goal, stronger collaboration between different EU-level instruments and funding is needed. Alongside targeted research opportunities in key areas of development, the Pact should highlight the importance of bottom-up curiosity-driven research. This approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in many fields, thus ensuring that funds are channelled into research areas with a greater degree of flexibility.  In addition, it is worth mentioning that more robust links between research and industry are needed. Scientific investigation at low TRLs level needs to be continuously supported, but it is also necessary to create ecosystems supporting European innovation. The collaboration between research and industrial alliances, or other similar initiatives closer to the market, should be increased to facilitate the development of common technology roadmaps for critical sectors.  In connection with the previous point, the importance of value-creation from knowledge should also be highlighted. This development requires strengthening the lab-to-fab process, speeding up the transition of ideas from research to market, thus accelerating groundbreaking innovations in critical areas.  To support such developments, the effective creation of world-class research infrastructures with updated mapping and governance frameworks is crucial. The renewed ERA puts forward new guiding principles for creating value from knowledge, a good step in the direction of standardising processes. However, it is essential that these principles, which are also recognised in the codes mentioned within the Pact’s Roadmap, align with existing national frameworks, ensuring the protection of intellectual property rights, safeguarding researchers’ autonomy, and supporting their careers across Europe.
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Response to Communication on the future of research and innovation and the European Research Area

3 Aug 2020

EERA welcomes the Commission initiative to relaunch the European Research Area to support EU research coordination on, among other policies, the green and digital transitions. The ERA’s relaunch should serve the double purpose of advancing EU R&I potential and competitiveness, as well as supporting knowledge-based policy making. In the post Covid-19 recovery, sustainable energy technologies have the potential to constitute a key driver for economic development, accelerating the transition to a greener, more efficient energy system. Moreover, sustainable energy technologies have proven to be an economic sector that is highly resilient to the impacts of this crisis, providing a clear indication of an effective R&I investment direction for the future of Europe. More in detail, EERA is putting forward the following suggestions, as input for the EC Communication on the future of ERA: 1. Support public investments in energy R&I to boost research in essential areas addressing key societal challenges, such as the Clean Energy Transition • As a research community, EERA strongly advocates for a knowledge-based policy-making process, relying on experts’ advice for identifying research investment priorities contributing to key societal challenges. The scientific community has an important role in advancing low and medium TRLs research and consequently advise policymakers to support the development of effective and innovative policies. • In the energy sector, the ERA can leverage on the R&I priorities identified through existing frameworks coordinating energy research in Europe to support public investments. These include the EERA Joint Programmes, the SET-Plan and the Horizon Europe Partnerships, in particular the Clean Energy Transition Partnership. 2. Improve cross-border R&I collaboration avoiding overlapping and improving processes for a better use of European resources, by leveraging on existing frameworks such as the SET-Plan and the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) • The ERA should facilitate the identification of opportunities for international or cross-regional collaboration, as well as their implementation. In the energy sector, the SET-Plan Implementation Plans (IPs) and the NECPs can be fundamental instruments for the identification of common interests for future research, international partnerships, and consequentially for the convergence of national efforts. • A support in the engagement of EU-13 countries in the energy research sector is needed. This goal can be achieved with a better capillarization of the information about EU research priorities and funding opportunities as well as with the establishment of ad-hoc mechanisms to facilitate EU-13 participation in funding programmes. • The digital transformation across all R&I sectors can provide for a free flow of data able to grant fast R&I responses. Digitalisation and open data are indeed key priorities of the green energy sector, also being included in the Commission’s Energy System Integration strategy as a pivotal process to achieve a full network interoperability. Digitalisation also provides new opportunities for energy consumers, granting a flexible consumption across different sectors, contributing to an efficient integration of diverse technologies. 3. Supporting a more effective knowledge transfer and technology implementation mechanism through closer collaboration between Research and Industry • Facilitating the dialogue between Research and Industry is a fundamental step towards a more efficient innovation ecosystem, ensuring a smooth laboratory-to-product transition. In this sense, the SUPEERA project (Support to the coordination of national research and innovation programmes in areas of activity of the European Energy Research Alliance) managed by EERA is working towards the acceleration of the uptake by industry, matching the common pathways between energy expertise capacities and industrial stakeholders.
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