Creation date: October 24, 2016
40 transport and energy research projects will receive €208 million in total from the EU's Horizon 2020 programme to make European transport greener, safer and more efficient, as well as to bring to market affordable, cost-effective and resource-efficient energy solutions.
The selected energy projects cover such areas as ocean, wind and geothermal energy, renewable energy sources, photovoltaics, carbon capture and storage, concentrated solar power and biofuels but also social studies that help advance the market uptake.
The awarded transport projects cover air and road transport, as well as cross-cutting priorities for greener urban transport.
Examples of selected projects:
PEMs4Nano - A new portable system to measure nanoparticle emissions
The current particle emission control in Europe cannot detect all nanoparticles generated by the latest transport technologies. The PEMs4Nano project will develop a robust and reliable portable measurement system allowing detecting nanoparticles in the laboratory environment and on the road, and establishing a trustworthy correlation between both measurements. To achieve this, the project will optimise two complementary measurement systems and existing technologies.
Project full title: Portable Nano-Particle Emission Measurement System EU contribution: €3.6 million Topic: GV-02-2016 - Technologies for low emission light duty powertrains Duration: October 2016 - September 2019 Partners from: France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom
ORCA - Greener trucks and buses on the European roads
ORCA aims to improve the efficiency and cut the costs of hybrid trucks and busses through enhanced power-trains, reduced fuel consumption and smaller internal combustion engines, as well as longer electric autonomy. The project will also look into replacing diesel engine by an advanced compressed natural gas engine, leading to further cuts in fuel consumption and higher efficiency levels. ORCA's ambition is to reduce the fuel consumption of busses and trucks by up to 40%, downsize the internal combustion engines by at least 50% and improve the electric range from 10km to 30km.
Project full title: Optimised Real-world Cost-Competitive Modular Hybrid Architecture for Heavy Duty Vehicles EU contribution: €8.3 million Topic: GV-03-2016 - System and cost optimised hybridisation of road vehicles Duration: October 2016 - September 2020 Partners from: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom
Safeclouds.eu - Exploring big data to expand knowledge on aviation safety
The project will develop a novel data mining approach for aviation safety and design innovative representations of the results in order to effectively transfer the gained to such users as airlines and air navigation service providers. The proposed safety knowledge algorithms and representations will allow identifying and mitigating aviation risks, as well as building a unified vision for the future of safety analytics in Europe.
Project full title: Data-driven research addressing aviation safety intelligence EU contribution: €5.6 million Topic: MG-3.1-2016 - Addressing aviation safety challenges Duration: October 2016 - September 2019 Partners from: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey
GEMex - Developing geothermal systems in Mexico
The GEMex project is based on the cooperation of European and Mexican consortiums, and aims to develop enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) in two unconventional geothermal sites in Mexico. The project will focus on the sites of Acoculco and Los Humeros, where it will conduct tectonic and hydrogeological research, collect electromagnetic and seismic data, and carry out high-pressure / high-temperature laboratory experiments. In its final stage, the project plans to propose innovative concepts for developing the sites, including defining drill paths, designing wells from most suitable materials, and designing operational procedures for safe and economic exploitation of the two geothermal sites.
Project full title: Cooperation in Geothermal energy research Europe-Mexico for development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Superhot Geothermal Systems EU contribution: €9.9 million Topic: LCE-23-2016 - International Cooperation with Mexico on geothermal energy Duration: October 2016 - September 2019 Partners from: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, United Kingdom
BioMates - Next generation of biofuels
The EU targets to replace 10% of all transport fossil fuels with biofuels by 2020 to reduce the dependence on petroleum, while simultaneously cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The main obstacles to achieve this goal, however, are the sustainability of the conventional biofuels and the unattractive production costs of second and third generation biofuels. The BioMates project aspires to drastically increase the use of non-food/feed biomass for the production of greener transportation fuels through introducing an effective and sustainable new production pathway, based on the use of straw and nonfood (Miscanthus) biomass. According to the BioMates project, the proposed technology has the potential of saving over 49 million tons CO2 emissions and reducing crude oil imports by at least 7%, equal to over €7 billion savings for EU.
Project full title: Reliable Bio-based Refinery Intermediates EU contribution: €5.9 million Topic: LCE-08-2016-2017 - Development of next generation biofuel technologies Duration: October 2016 - September 2020 Partners from: Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, United Kingdom
ENABLE.EU - Understanding the energy choices in Europe
The success of the energy transition from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources hinge upon the social acceptability of the necessary reforms and on creating the necessary public engagement. The ENABLE.EU project aims to define the key determinants of individual and collective energy choices in three consumption areas - transportation, heating & cooling, and electricity – and in the shift to prosumption, i.e. users-led initiatives of decentralised energy production and trade. The project will also investigate the interrelations between individual and collective energy choices and their impact on regulatory, technological and investment decisions. The analysis will be based on national household and business surveys in 11 countries, as well as research-area-based comparative case studies. It will take in account factors such as existing public participation mechanisms, energy cultures, scientists’ engagement with citizens and gender issues in regard to energy vulnerability.
Project full title: Enabling the Energy Union through understanding the drivers of individual and collective energy choices in Europe EU contribution: €3.3 million Topic: LCE-31-2016-2017 - Social Sciences and Humanities Support for the Energy Union Duration: November 2016 - October 2019 Partners from: Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom
How were the projects selected for EU funding?
All 25 energy research projects were selected under the Competitive Low Carbon Energy and Blue Growth calls for proposals. The 15 transport research projects were selected under the Mobility for Growth and Green Vehicles calls for proposals.
The submitted proposals were evaluated by external experts drawn from the European Commission's independent expert database. Grant agreements were signed with the successful applicants within eight months after the submission deadline.
How will the projects be managed?
The projects are each implemented by a consortium of European partners. INEA will monitor their progress throughout the entire project life-cycle.
Overall, €12.2 billion have been earmarked for transport and energy research in Horizon 2020, the main EU's funding programme for the 2014-2020 period. €6.7 billion of this amount will be managed by INEA resulting in approximately 800 projects of an average size of €7 million.
Horizon 2020 'Smart, green and integrated transport' challenge
Horizon 2020 'Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy' challenge