Ten EU Research Institutes Launch European Energy Research Alliance

1 November 2008

Ten research institutes in the European Union (EU) have founded the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA). The EERA will be a key actor of the EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and will contribute to accelerate the development of new low carbon technologies for EU to move toward a low carbon economy.

In November 2007, the European Commission launched the SET Plan, which gives energy research in Europe an important push. Initiatives in preparation focus on carbon capture and storage, bio-energy, wind and solar energy, the European smart grid and sustainable fission. It will combine the potential of research capacities of the major European institutes and universities with the engagement of European industry and the commitment of the Member States. Actions will be supported by information provided by the Commission’s European Energy Technology Information System (SETIS).

The European Energy Research Alliance is the SET Plan’s research community pillar. The cooperation of major national research institutes and universities will move help to move from today's model of collaborating on individual projects towards a new way of jointly implementing whole programs which go from research and development through deployment. There are many scientific fields which have an impact on the development of energy technologies, from engineering to the social sciences. The Alliance is able to cover many different disciplines, bringing a much-needed multidisciplinary approach to energy research.

Founding institute members of the EERA are:

• Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), France
• Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT), Spain
• Centre for renewable energy sources (CRES), Greece
• Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Netherlands
• Ente per le Nuove tecnologie, l’Energia e l’Ambiente, (ENEA), Italy
• Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZ Jülich), Germany
• INETI - Instituto Nacional de Engenharia, Tecnologia e Inovação, Portugal
• Risø DTU National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Denmark
• Energy Research Centre (ERC), United Kingdom
• Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), Finland