Energy

The briefing will reflect on how to reduce energy needs for the next generation of smart buildings from Swiss and EU perspectives.

The Swiss Innovation Briefing, jointly organised by the Mission of Switzerland to the EU and SwissCore, will host the following speakers: Gian-Luca Bona, Alexander Wokaun, Walter Steinmann and Mark Van Stiphout, who, after their presentations, will take part in a panel discussion moderated by Christian Schaffner.

The European Commission will invest almost €16 billion in research and innovation in the next two years under Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation funding scheme, following a new work programme for 2016-17 adopted on 13 October. The work programme is now available on the participant portal.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation said: "Research and innovation are the engines of Europe's progress and vital to addressing today's new pressing challenges like immigration, climate change, clean energy and healthy societies. Over the next two years, €16 billion from Horizon 2020 will support Europe's top scientific efforts, making the difference to citizens' lives."

The event targets potential applicants to the calls for project proposals under the Smart Grids & Storage topic of the Horizon 2020 Work programme 2016-2017 ‘Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy’.

Presentations will cover the Smart Grids & Storage part of the Work Programme for 2016-2017 and the application procedure, as well as detailed information on the calls. Participants will have numerous networking opportunities throughout the day.

Horizon 2020 is the EU’s biggest ever programme for research and innovation, and it has got off to an excellent start. This brochure presents information on the first 100 calls for proposals that closed by 1 December 2014.

On 25 September, the Commission launched an online survey to gather opinions from stakeholders on the impact of the simplification measures introduced in Horizon 2020, and to ask for new ideas on future simplification.

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research and innovation programme ever. Almost €80 billion of funding is available over seven years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private and national public investment that this money will attract. This publication presents the full set of Key Performance and Cross-Cutting Issues Indicators for Horizon 2020, including those for the European Institute of Technology and EURATOM.

The TOPTEN ACT project will help consumers make environmentally conscious purchases by selecting and presenting Europe’s most energy efficient products across a number of categories. Goods will be analysed from the 16 national Topten websites, which showcase the best performing models in each country.

To confront the current challenge of managing a city of 20 million, the Egyptian government has revealed plans earlier this year (2015) to build a new capital city, 45 kilometres east of Cairo. The ambitious project tackles growth over the next 50 years and has been set to adapt to future challenges, including population density and land constraints. Like Cairo, many other metropolises are currently under pressure.

Europe is the world’s third-largest producer of bioethanol – an important renewable fuel and energy source. Most stems from crops. Aiming to enlarge the feedstock basis for ethanol production, an EU-funded project has taken advanced bioethanol production from plant waste a large step closer to cost-efficient implementation.

The event targets potential applicants to the calls for project proposals under the H2020 challenge 'Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy'.

The new Work Programme for 2016-2017 in the area of H2020 energy research will be presented on 14 September and in-depth sessions on various calls of the Work Programme will be held on 15 September.

Monitoring the energy display for televisions is at the centre of the ComplianTV project which will be hosting an event on 3 September 2015 in Brussels. Join and learn more about the testing results and how you can save energy at home.

If there’s one thing North Africa has in abundance, it is sun – and with it, the potential for cheap, plentiful solar power. An EU-funded project is adapting solar technology to the region’s environment and infrastructure, while building local research capacity in the field.

Harnessing nuclear fusion could generate unlimited, sustainable energy. An EU-funded project has helped advance atomic modelling in preparation for a future fusion reactor.

Without catalysts, humans wouldn’t have got far. They trigger many of the processes on which we rely, from age-old mechanisms deep down in our cells to the production of contemporary consumer goods. They could also smooth our path towards a sustainable future. EU-funded researcher Xile Hu has delivered promising advances.

While weather forecasts – including those for wind – have improved significantly, change is always imminent. When wind power rises or falls unexpectedly, it can have a knock-on effect on infrastructure and power supply. An EU-funded research project has improved the accuracy of short-term forecasts, helping Europe rely more on wind power as it moves towards a more secure and cleaner energy future.

By 1 December 2014 the first 100 calls had closed. What can we tell about the popularity of the programme, the success of SMEs, the degree to which the programme has attracted newcomers - both as participants and as expert evaluators - the proportion of women experts and the speed with which contracts have been signed? See this new page to find out more!

Timed to examine Government's post-election plans for UK science and innovation policy, and informed by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee's inquiry on Priorities for science, this seminar will bring together key stakeholders from the academic community and R&D-intensive industries with policymakers.

Keynote address by Dr Jack Metthey, Director, Policy Development and Coordination: "Making the most of Horizon 2020 ‐ UK involvement in EU science programmes"

This year the theme for the conference is Global Outreach: Enabling Cultures and Diversity in Research Management and Administration. This theme reflects the growing need and ambition to reach out and get connected and work together globally. Cooperating not only in the field of scientific research & innovation and higher education but also in the field of research management and administration.

The Info Day is organised by the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking to provide full information on the 2015 Call for Proposals. The session will take place from 09:00 to 12:30 in the Charlemagne Building on June 26, Rue de la Loi 170, B-1000 Brussels. You can register until 19 June 2015 via the BBI website, under the session "Events".