Project description
Removing barriers to expertise and resources for energy audits by SMEs
The Energy Efficiency Directive calls on EU countries to introduce programmes that urge SMEs to perform energy audits and apply the proposed energy-saving methods. However, there are several barriers to the uptake of energy audits and the execution of energy conservation measures (ECMs) amongst SMEs. To overcome these obstacles, the EU-funded SPEEDIER project will offer a self-financing outsourced energy management service to SMEs, through which they will be able to obtain the required know-how when needed, resulting in higher energy audit uptake and ECM implementation. To eliminate any financial barriers to uptake and implementation, the consultant who provides support maintains a share of the savings as compensation for the entire contract.
Objective
The Energy Efficiency Directive, in its art.8 requires Member States to develop programmes encouraging SMEs to undergo energy audits and implement the recommended energy-saving measures. However uptake of energy audits and implementation of energy conservation measures (ECM) among SMEs has been low to date. The barriers to uptake cited in the literature include lack of in-house expertise; lack of resource (time & money); perception that energy auditing is expensive; inability to act due to lack of control of services in the building they use; lack of willingness from landlords to act; inability to access finance due to the small nature of most projects.
The SPEEDIER project will address these barriers by providing a self-financing outsourced energy management service to SMEs. By outsourcing the role of energy manager to SPEEDIER Experts, SMEs can access the expertise needed at the required time, leading to greater uptake of energy audits and implementation of energy efficiency measures. SPEEDIER will target groups of SMEs in 4 EU pilot regions: in Spain we will test a location based approach, engage with SMEs based at a single business park to demonstrate that advantages of clustering SMEs give them better access to the economies of large scale projects; in Ireland and Romania SMEs in the manufacturing and hospitality sectors respectively will be approached to test a sector based approach to service delivery; in Italy, a more general approach of accessing SMEs from any sector via ESCOs will be tested.
The project is to be self-financing to remove any financial barriers to energy audit uptake and implementation of ECMs. The mechanism for making this work in practice follows an Energy Performance Contract model where the consultant delivering the support retains a share of the savings as payment for the duration of the contract. This ensures that the Service is also suitable for large enterprises. The project consists of 6 RTDs, 3 SMEs, 1 NGO from 5 Member States
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences political sciences political policies civil society civil society organisations nongovernmental organizations
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.3.3. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.3.3.7. - Market uptake of energy innovation - building on Intelligent Energy Europe
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.3.3.1. - Reducing energy consumption and carbon foorpint by smart and sustainable use
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
CSA - Coordination and support action
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-LC-SC3-2018-2019-2020
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
T12 YN60 Cork
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.