Impact of European R&D&I programmes in the energy sector

04/03/2015
Diego Gutiérrez
Impact of European R&D&I programmes in the energy sector
More than 600 energy projects have been supported by Europe in the 6th (2002-2006) and 7th (2007-2013) Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. The success rate has been 20%. The area that has obtained the most funding is bioenergy, obtaining a total of €527M followed by energy efficiency and smart grids. The average funding rate has increased from 48% to 58% in the 7th FP due to the increase of the maximum rate for certain types of legal entities such as SMEs.

Participants

In the 7PF, almost half of the participants were private companies and half were research companies, only 6% were public companies.

The average number of participants decreases from 14 entities to 11 entities, reflecting the fact that efforts are being made to fund simpler projects.

78% of the 6PF and 7PF participants only took part in one project, which shows that Europe makes it easy for new players to enter.

Western Europe is the most active geographical area and in FP7 countries such as Spain, Portugal and the UK increased their participation considerably.

"Among the pending issues is to promote the interaction of projects to avoid overlapping and to improve the cooperation of the member states," says Diego Gutierrez of ABRA INVEST.

 

Budget and contribution

The average EU contribution per project increased due to the participation of projects requiring more capital involvement, as they are closer to commercialisation, especially in bio-energy and smart grid technologies.

In the 6th programme the average project budget was €6M, of which the EU contributed €3M. In the 7th programme the average budget increased to €8.8M with the EU contributing €5.1M.

Achievement of programme objectives

The main objectives of the programme were to increase energy efficiency and combat climate change, which are difficult to evaluate. But the foundations for establishing energy efficiency strategies in Europe have been laid thanks to the knowledge, tools and models achieved by the projects. The most tangible impact is related to the construction of a European research area.

 

Impact of participants

70% of the participants say that the project achieved or will achieve the planned objectives. Only 10% say that the objectives will only be partially achieved.

On average, each project has led to the development of 8 publications and 76% of the companies say that participating in the project has allowed them to become more competitive.

Value for Europe

The programmes have enabled cooperation and cross-cutting networking, improved the EU's research position and enhanced the competitiveness of renewable energy companies. They have enabled the EU to maintain a leading position in areas such as biofuels, wind and smart grids.

 Other posts that may interest you

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