Overview
Human societies are dependent on and maintained by a continuous flow of energy, arguably the most fundamental and basic resource. As such, energy is an issue that affects all human activities and cuts across all policies.
As described in the Commission's Green Paper on a European strategy for sustainable, competitive and secure energy, Europe has entered into a new energy era. The energy landscape of the 21st century is one in which the world's economic regions are dependent on each other for ensuring energy security and stable economic conditions, and for ensuring effective action against climate change.
Europe's energy economy, and that of the World, is currently on a path that is not sustainable and urgent action is needed. Set against the backdrop of a growing global demand for energy to power economic development and growth, we are faced with a huge challenge. Sustainable, affordable and secure energy has to become one of the basic pillars of daily life.
The focus of the research and demonstration actions in FP7 will be on accelerating the development of cost-effective technologies for a more sustainable energy economy for Europe (and the rest of the world) and ensuring that European industry can compete successfully on the global stage.
Recognising that none of the technologies being developed can make a sufficient difference on their own and that their commercialisation will take place over differing time horizons, a broad technology portfolio approach has been adopted, thus greatly reducing the risk and potentially the costs, if one or more technologies fail to make the expected progress.
The objective of energy research under FP7 is to aid the creation and establishment of the technologies necessary to adapt the current energy system into a more sustainable, competitive and secure one. It should also depend less on imported fuels and use a diverse mix of energy sources, in particular renewables, energy carriers and non polluting sources.
The research, development and demonstration to be carried out under this Framework Programme are expected to:
- Improve energy efficiency throughout the energy system.
- Accelerate the penetration of renewable energy sources.
- Decarbonise power generation and, in the longer term, substantially decarbonise transport.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Diversify Europe's energy mix.
Enhance the competitiveness of European industry including a better involvement of SMEs
Emphasis will be given to the following activities:
- Hydrogen and fuel cells - Research in this area is funded through the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).
- Renewable electricity generation - technologies to increase overall conversion efficiency, cost efficiency and reliability, driving down the cost of electricity production.
- Renewable fuel production - fuel production systems and conversion technologies.
- Renewables for heating and cooling - technologies for cheaper, more efficient active and passive heating and cooling from renewable energy sources.
- CO2 capture and storage technologies for zero emission power generation - technologies reducing the environmental impact of fossil fuel use by capturing CO2.
- Clean Coal Technologies - substantially improve power plant efficiency, reliability and reducing costs through research, development and demonstration of cleaner coal and other solid fuel conversion technologies, producing also secondary energy carriers (including hydrogen) and liquid or gaseous fuels.
- Smart energy networks - increasing the efficiency, safety, reliability and quality of the European electricity and gas systems and networks in the context of a more integrated European energy market.
- Energy efficiency and savings - technologies to improve energy efficiency and to enable final and primary energy consumption savings, over their life-cycle, for buildings (including lighting), transport, services and industry.
- Knowledge for energy policy making - tools, methods and models to assess the economic and social issues related to energy technologies and to provide quantifiable targets and scenarios for medium and long term horizons.
- Horizontal programme actions - the topics described in this section have a horizontal character not linked specifically to any particular technology.