SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2

Project Information

Solar Cofund 2

Grant agreement ID: 786483

DOI

10.3030/786483

Project closed

EC signature date 30 April 2018

Start date 1 June 2018

End date 30 November 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 20 152 168,00

EU contribution

€ 6 333 425,01

Coordinated by

NET NOWAK ENERGIE & TECHNOLOGIE AG
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Solar Cofund 2 (SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2)

Reporting period: 2019-06-01 to 2023-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 had two interrelated key missions: to support transnational projects and strengthen cooperation in ERA between national and regional programmes for research and innovation in the field of solar power technologies.

As a network SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 brought together 18 national and regional organisations owning and / or managing major solar power research and innovation programmes throughout Europe.

Through supporting transnational research and innovation projects and transnational cooperation, the overall objectives of SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 were to contribute to substantial cost reductions of solar power technologies, economic development of the European solar power sector and to reinforce Europe’s strong position in solar power technologies.

According to the challenges addressed and impacts expected in the work programme, SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 set the following objectives:

1) To further strengthen long-lasting joint programming research efforts between Member States / Associated Countries in areas of common interest through successive and successful joint calls
2) To pool resources and to provide critical mass
3) To mobilise 30 MEUR of public funding
4) To address topics and subjects of highest priority and European added value
5) To accelerate the time to market of affordable, cost-effective and resource-efficient technology solutions which decarbonise the energy system in a sustainable way
6) To encourage industrial participation and leverage private sector investment
7) To (re)strengthen the European industrial technology base, thereby creating economic growth and jobs in Europe
8) To reduce the environmental impact of the energy system
9) To make a measurable contribution to the political objectives of the Energy Union, the SET Plan, and the European Research Area

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The key activities of SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 focused on joint calls allowing for selecting and supporting highly relevant transnational research and innovation projects.

The projects funded covered the following scopes and joint call topics defined according to the priorities identified in the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan and in the subsequent Implementation Plans for PV and CSP:

1) Advanced industrial PV technologies (TRL: 4 to 7)
2) Emerging PV technologies (TRL: 3 to 5)
3) Operation and diagnosis of PV plants (TRL: 6 to 7)
4) CSP low cost and next generation technologies (TRL: 4 to 7)

The objectives listed in the section above could be greatly achieved. The consortium could further strengthen the cooperation between Member States / Associated Countries and their respective research and innovation programmes (objective 1), especially through joint transnational calls and a well established network having worked together for two decades and created a largely recognised SOLAR-ERA.NET “brand”. SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 also participated in the preparation of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (cetpartnership.eu) gathering several ERA-NET’s in a new framework. The joint calls (two planned joint calls plus a third joint call launched on top) and its follow-up on transnational projects were successfully carried out (and still ongoing for the projects selected in the latter joint calls). The joint call addressed topics and subjects of highest priority and European added value (objective 4). Thanks to pooling resources with some 25 MEUR of effective funding and thereby providing critical mass (objectives 2 and 3), 33 transnational projects could be / are supported where major progress could / is expected be achieved in technology development, deployment and exploitation (objectives 5 to 9) reflected in the dedicated Deliverables and in the individual project reports.

The SOLAR-ERA.NET Cofund 2 consortium used a variety of communication and dissemination channels. The main tools for promoting the calls, funded projects’ activities and results were the project website (http://www.solar-era.net/) webinars, participation in conferences and specific events for outreach to and exchange with stakeholders as well as websites, events and newsletters managed by funding agencies at the national / regional level.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The successful projects demonstrated scientific and technological excellence as well as potential commercial impact, relevance to industrial and market needs and thereby provided a contribution to the SET-Plan objectives and added trans¬national value. Their individual results, impacts and exploitations are reflected in the dedicated Deliverables and in the individual project reports.

SOLAR-ERA.NET as a network of national and regional organisations owning and / or managing major solar power research and innovation programmes throughout Europe has provided added value and opportunities for the research and industry sector, namely:
• Complementarity between national and EU funded programmes
• Building a more robust and consistent research landscape
• Increasing strengths and reducing weaknesses
• Stepping stone for international cooperation
• Flexibility and bottom-up nature, no “one size fits all” approach
• New routes and innovative transnational research for medium-sized projects

SOLAR-ERA.NET has not only allowed for supporting innovative research projects on a transnational level but also provided added value in terms of networking and programming, namely:
• New industry-led innovation projects and partnerships in a strongly competitive environment
• More transnational cooperation bottom-up and “cut to measure”
• Larger and more diverse portfolio
• Common initiatives and implementation activities
• Networking and collaboration between countries across Europe
• Overview on European research and insight into trends
• Good practice for supporting projects on the transnational level

SOLAR-ERA.NET’s transnational activities have had a strong focus on innovation in new concepts, materials, processes, components and applications, by joining complementary scientific and industrial competences across the European RTDI landscape considering industrial relevance, cost effectiveness and scalability of innovative approaches in view of bringing new solutions to the growing solar electricity market. Increasingly, systemic aspects and integration have become more important and are gaining a new dimension within Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETPartnership).

After two decades of successful and strengthened cooperation between major solar power research and innovation programmes in Europe, SOLAR-ERA.NET is ending … and continues together with other ERA-NET’s in the Clean Energy Transition Partnership.

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