Register for the ETIP SNET & BRIDGE Key results and steps forward networking event!

On 20th June 2023, the ETIP SNET and BRIDGE will host its “Key results and steps forward” networking event in Brussels at the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR) from 18:00 onwards. A networking walking dinner will follow a one-hour panel session.

Do not miss the opportunity to meet with numerous relevant stakeholders in the energy field and learn about the key results achieved over the past three years and the upcoming steps forward of the two European Commission’s (EC) initiatives.

The Event will be exclusively in person. Registration is required to participate.

The “ETIP SNET and BRIDGE - Key Results and steps forward” will take place on the evening of the first day of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW). Participants will be welcomed with an aperitif at 18.00, and by 18:30, a panel session will begin, followed by a networking walking dinner.

In the panel, speakers will present and discuss the main achievements of the two EC initiatives and their contribution to guiding Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I) to support Europe’s energy transition. Moreover, you will have the unique opportunity to meet the BRIDGE projects responsible in the “EU BRIDGE Projects Corner” to exchange ideas, discover projects’ results and establish new synergies.

The panel session will be followed by a networking walking dinner across the restaurant of KBR and its beautiful terrace overlooking parts of Brussels city centre. One day away from the longest day of the year, this will be the perfect occasion to network and liaise with the vast community of energy experts part of the ETIP SNET and BRIDGE.

ETIP SNET R&I Roadmap 2022-2031 published!

On 15th March 2023, the ETIP SNET has issued its R&I Roadmap 2022-2031, the key publication outlining the research and innovation priority needs for the coming decade. The Roadmap can be retrieved on the Publication Office of the European Union and on the Publication section of the ETIP SNET website.

By 2050, the extensive electrification in (nearly) all sectors of the energy system, combined with significant energy efficiency improvements and CO2 reductions in all sectors, will lead to a carbon-neutral energy system. It is widely understood that this will rely on: The massive use of renewables for electricity, transport and heating & cooling generation; Smart Grids technologies (Digitalisation and Smart control of flexible generation and demand, sustainable buildings); The combination of the above with sector coupling of all energy carriers via storage (such as batteries, by use of liquids (e.g., hydro pumping), CO2-neutral or CO2-free gases) and conversion technologies (for extensive use of carbon-neutral gases and green fuels and possibly hydrogen in industry, transport and buildings); A widely adopted circular approach to energy systems with high recycling rates.

To support Europe’s energy transition by guiding and identifying research and innovation R&I priorities addressing the innovation challenges for the energy system, ETIP SNET publishes and updates key documents that consolidate the views of more than 350 stakeholders. These are Roadmaps (RMs) covering a ten-year timespan and Implementation Plans (IPs), which are limited to a 3-4-year time window. These documents are regularly updated to identify the most pressing R&I priorities in the energy field for the next years. The RM 2022 -2031 covers the next 10-year timespan. This version updates the previous 2020-2030 edition.

The Roadmap is based on the taxonomy already introduced in the last revision of the R&I Implementation Plan, based on the concept of High-Level Use Cases (HLUC) and the associated Priority Project Concepts (PPCs). These are meant to better communicate to its target audiences the urgency of realising the transformation of today’s energy system through concrete R&I projects into the needed widely renewable energy system of 2031 and the fully CO2-neutral energy system of 2050 as the ultimate goal. This is connected with concrete outcomes and scopes for real-world demonstrations. The R&I Priority Projects Concepts (PPCs) for each of HLUC cover key integration features of the Future European Energy Systems with concrete goals and time schedules. Nine HLUCs – each valid until 2031 – are used to structure in this ETIP SNET R&I Roadmap 2022-2031 the needed R&I Priority Project Concepts.

ETIP SNET and BRIDGE will attend EM-Power Europe

The ETIP SNET and BRIDGE will take part to the EM-Power Europe Conference, the International Exhibition for energy management and integrated energy solutions in Frankfurt from 13 to 16 June 2023.

The two EC initiatives will give a panel session and have a dedicated space where they will be joined by the ten BRIDGE projects below:

• Iflex: Intelligent Assistants for Flexibility Management;
• RESONANCE: Replicable and efficient solutions for optimal cross-sector energy management;
• GIFT: Geographic Island Flexibility;
• iPLUG;
• ebalance-plus;
• InterConnect;
• SENDER;
• RENergetic;
• FLEXIGRID;
• EUniversal.

Below is the description of the session, also available on the EM-Power Europe website.

The world is facing unprecedented challenges in the form of climate change and the urgent need to transition to a sustainable energy future. In order to tackle these challenges, we must harness the power of research and innovation to drive forward the development of new technologies, processes, and solutions.

This session, organised by the ETIP Smart Networks for Energy Transition (SNET) and BRIDGE - two European Commission’s initiatives - will bring on the stage ten H2020 and Horizon Europe projects. The panel session will be divided into two separate breakdown sessions along the topics of:

1. Flexibility and retail market options for DSO - Replicable solutions for a cross sector compliant energy ecosystem
2. Consumer engagement and demand response (including interoperable smart homes and grids) and Decarbonising systems in energy and geographical Islands.

The panellists will present the key figures, activities and results of their projects and will be part of a panel discussion followed by a Q&A session where questions from the audience will be collected.

Join us to enhance more your understanding of the current state of energy-related areas and to identify where the gaps and needs for future research and innovation priorities lie!

ETIP SNET 17th Regional Workshop in Vaasa (Finland)

The ETIP SNET successfully organised the 17^th Regional Workshop in Vaasa within the scope of the Vaasa EnergyWeek. This Workshop focused on countries from Northern Europe (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) that met and discussed together with the EC, national funding authorities and ministries about RDI priorities and next funding programmes.

More than 50 attendees took part to the hybrid event.

Key conclusions and recommendations of this event will be released soon on the ETIP SNET website and will serve as a base for further analysis and discussion with policymakers at European, national and regional levels.

Working Groups updates

WG1

The White Paper on “E-mobility deployment and impact on grids” is published and can be found here.

The Flexibility for Resilience White paper is published and available.

The Hydrogen and Grids Task Force is continuing its drafting work and aims to achieve their first draft before Q3 of 2023.

The TF on Energy Communities’ Impact on Grids in cooperation with ISGAN has significantly advanced with respect to the drafting of the deliverable.

The ETIP SNET WG1 has engaged in bilateral discussions with the ETIP SNET Chair Team to further explore how the WG1 foresees the next year of work.

Initial planning for a white paper dedicated to the topic of energy infrastructure planning is soon underway with the goal of initiating a Kick Off Meeting in Q2.

WG2

The paper for TF KPI on Energy Storage Applications paper has been published and can be found here. Furthermore, the WG2 has mapped the activities of its next TF; Development of Circular Economy Approach to Energy Storage Value Chains and expects to kick off this TF in the coming months. 

WG3

The editors' team is currently active disseminating the White Paper “Coupling of Heat/Cooling and Electricity Sectors in a Renewable Energy Driven Europe” across Europe by attending to different conferences. Members attended the IEWT conference in Vienna in February and will be attending the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition in Italy in June.

The WG3 is currently working on two position papers: "Hydrogen Ramp-up" position paper led by Peter Johnson with a deadline for June 2023. And a second position paper on “Ramp-up of renewable generation and its effects on system level” led by Thai Phuong Do with a deadline for June 2023 as well.

The WG3 is also planning to meet face-to-face in October 2023 at Le Bourget. It will be organised by Thai Phuong Do and will take place at the same time as the ISGT conference during which the White Paper will be presented.

WG4

The Energy Data Spaces policy paper is currently under development by WG4 with the assistance of the Core Team, as proposed by the EC. WG4 TF1 is leading this initiative and has had a discussion this week with representatives of DG ENER to align the content of the paper with the priorities of the EC on the topic of Energy Data Spaces. TF3 will have a meeting before the end of the month to continue discussing the next outcome on Energy Communities’ and Citizens’ Engagement. Last, the new work stream on digital skills is being further defined based on the work developed within the EDDIE project.

WG5

WG5 is leading the development of a policy paper on the topic of Regulatory Sandboxes, which is currently the main activity of this WG. A Task Force has been set up to write the paper, it is currently of 13 experts - most of them are part of WG5, but participation in the TF has been opened to the experts of other WGs. A meeting was held with the ETIP SNET Chairmanship to define the paper content last week. Additionally, this week representatives of DG ENER have met with the experts of the TF that will develop the paper in order to find common alignment with the EC priorities on the topic. During the next two weeks, the experts of the TF will develop a full state-of-the-art investigation that will be shared with the EC.