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

• Health, demographic change and wellbeing;
• Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the Bioeconomy;
• Secure, clean and efficient energy;
• Smart, green and integrated transport;
• Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials;
• Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies;
• Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens.

• 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.

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.