Call: Next generation innovative technologies enabling smart grids, storage and energy system integration with increasing share of renewables: distribution network

1. Excellent Science
2. Industrial Leadership
3. Societal Challenges

• Reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint
• Low-cost, low-carbon electricity supply
• Alternative fuels and mobile energy sources
• A single, smart European electricity grid
• New knowledge and technologies
• Robust decision making and public engagement
• Market uptake of energy and ICT innovation.

Today, our EU energy system is still strongly linked to borderlines between Member States and connections between the electricity, gas and heat networks are still scarce. Creating links between these networks would provide more flexibility, more resilience and allow a larger penetration of variable renewables. This approach is underpinned by the recent Communication 'Energy Union'. 

Specific topics of the calls

• Next generation innovative technologies enabling smart grids, storage and energy system integration with increasing share of renewables: Distribution network
• Demonstration of smart grid, storage and systems integration technologies with increasing share of renewables: Distribution system
• Support to R&I strategy for smart grid and storage
• Demonstration of smart transmission grid, storage and system integration technolgies with increasing share of renewables
• Tools and technologies for coordination and integration of the European energy system
• New knowledge and technologies
• Developing the next generation technolgies of renewable electricity and heating/cooling
• Development of next generation biofuels technolgies
• Increasing the competitiveness of the EU PV manufacturing industry
• Reducing the cost of PV electricity
• Near-to-market solutions for reducing the water consumption of CSP Plants
• Near-to-market solutions for the use of solar heat in industrial processes
• Solutions for reduced maintenance, increased reliability and extended life-time of off-shore wind turbines/farms
• Demonstration of large > 10MW wind turbine
• Scaling up in the ocean energy sector to arrays
• 2nd Generation design tools for ocean energy devices and arrays development and deployment
• Easier to install and more efficient geothermal systems for retrofitting buildings
• EGS in different geological conditions
• Demonstration of the most promising advanced biofuel pathways
• Enabling pre-commercial production of advanced aviation biofuel
• Makret uptake of renewable energy technologies
• International Cooperation with Brazil on advanced lignocellulosic biofuels
• International Cooperation with Mexico on geothermal energy
• International Cooperation with South Korea on new generation high-efficiency capture processes
• Utilisation of captured CO2 as feedstock for the process industry
• Cross-thematic ERA-NET on Applied Geosciences
• Measuring, monitoring and controlling the risks of CCS, EGS, and unconventional hydrocarbons in the subsurface
• Highly flexible and efficient fossil fuel power plants
• CCS in industry, including Bio-CCS
• Geological storage pilots
• Social Sciences and Humanities Support for the Energy Union
• European Platform for energy-related Social Sciences and Humanities research
• European Common Research and Innovation Agendas (ECRIAs) in support of the implementation of the SET Action Plan
• Joint Actions towards the demonstration and validation of innovative energy solutions
• Framework Partnership Agreement supporting Joint Actions towards the demonstration and validation of innovative energy solutions
• Support to the energy stakeholders to contribute to the SET-Plan

In a fast evolving and competitive global landscape, Europe needs to develop and mature the next generation of competitive technologies and services for the distribution grid at medium and low voltage levels, which are clearly going beyond the state of the art and will be ready to integrate the market in five to ten years' time. 

Proposals must target technologies, tools and/or services in one of the following areas:

In 2016:

• Storage: technologies for the storage of energy in the distribution network and their integration and exploitation in the smart grid context, including decentralised storage at user premises or at substation level; this encompasses optimal use of the potential of electric vehicles; particular attention should be put on cost, stability and lifetime;
• Synergies between energy networks: develop power to heat solutions and strategies (e.g. through the use of water boilers, heat pumps, thermal inertia of buildings, cooling needs, etc.), develop variable renewable power to gas/fuel solutions; technologies for hydrogen production and storage are addressed in the frame of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen JU and are therefore excluded from this call

In 2017:

• Demand-response: tools and technology validation for demand response forecast, profiling, segmentation, load forecasting, innovative and user-friendly services for customers based on smart metering; inclusion of Virtual Power Plant and microgrid as active balancing assets; associated innovative market and business models; secure data handling;
• Intelligent electricity distribution grid: tools for the optimisation of the distribution grid, technologies for autonomous and self-healing grids, energy management and control systems, technologies for advanced power electronics, for enhanced observability, e.g. real-time system awareness; secured communications in the smart grid in particular cyber security and big data analytics.

Proposals will clearly indicate which area is targeted.

At least three legal entities. Each of the three must be established in a different EU Member State or Horizon 2020 associated country. All three legal entities must be independent of each other. 

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between 2 and 4 million € would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

EU funding rate: 100%.

Electronic application here.

Link to the National Contact Point Finder.