C-Energy 2020 Project aims at the following three specific objectives:
1. Ensuring high quality Energy National Contact Point (NCP) services for Horizon 2020 and related programmes applicants;
2. Lowering entry barriers for Energy NCPs approaching EU Framework Programmes for Research & Innovation (R&I) for the first time;
3. Consolidating the international network of Energy NCPs.
C-Energy 2020 plays a strategic role in the framework of Horizon 2020 implementation. In fact, by targeting the National Contact Points (NCPs) under the Societal Challenge 3 ‘Secure, clean and efficient energy’, it enables them to acquire all the skills and knowledge that are required to provide the best support for Horizon 2020 potential applicants and raise the average quality of proposals submitted under the EU Framework Programme for R&I.. The Project, therefore, permits NCPs to duly perform the mission allocated to them by the European Commission and the R&I national systems, that is so say to provide practical information, personalised assistance and guidance on all aspects of participation in Horizon 2020 in all EU Member States, Countries Associated and many Third Countries.
In addition, C-Energy 2020 plays an important role for collecting feedback on bottlenecks and difficulties in the implementation of Horizon 2020 itself, also in view of shaping the new ninth Framework Programme.
The Energy Societal Challenge in Horizon 2020 is one of the most important in terms of earmarked budget. This reflects the special attention the European Commission attaches to the shift towards an energy secure, competitive, climate resilient and low-carbon economy. This energy transition is underpinned by the EU 2020 and 2030 energy and climate objectives and is part of the longer term EU strategy for the emissions reduction by 2050 (80-95% compared to 1990 levels). The launch of the European Energy Union package in February 2015 confirmed that energy is a top priority for the European Commission that set the ambitious goal for the EU to become 'the world number one in renewable energies'. Within the EU energy policy framework and the path traced by the revised European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), activities under C-Energy 2020 will play a pivotal role in supporting the mobilisation of Europe's untapped innovation potential and channeling it into Horizon 2020 in order to help generate innovative low-cost and low-carbon energy solutions and assure they may have an impact on the EU citizens' lives.
