European Commission launches European Research Infrastructures to Address European Green Deal Challenges
Deadline: 26-Jan-21
The European Commission has launched the European Research Infrastructures Capacities and Services to Address European Green Deal Challenges.
Seed Grants
The urgency and the scale of Green Deal challenges require the mobilization and advancement of world-class scientific capacities and resources such as those offered by European Research Infrastructures. They will contribute to the transition towards a climate-neutral Europe, targeting at least 50% emissions reduction by 2030. As a pilot under Horizon 2020, activities will focus on the provision of research and innovation services for breakthrough research in two priority areas: energy storage and advanced climate/environment observation and monitoring. Expected impacts range from answering short-term needs of thematic European Green Deal objectives to longer-term perspective including Horizon Europe.
Topics
Proposals will address one of the following sub-topics:
Support Europe leadership in clean energy storage technologies: This sub-topic aims at:
supporting the development of world-class European research and industrial ecosystem underpinning energy storage activities and the related value-chain;
enhancing the competitiveness of current and emerging industries by providing easy and seamless access to the most advanced scientific infrastructure available in Europe and related services;
enabling breakthrough research and innovation in energy storage systems and related materials across the whole value chain and with a life-cycle approach;
supporting a fair transition towards climate neutrality through a better understanding of socio-economic issues underpinning a paradigm change and of how to foster climate-neutral social practices.
Enhancing European research infrastructures for greenhouse gases observation in and around cities: The action should enhance greenhouse gases observation capacity of European research infrastructures, notably anthropogenic CO2 emissions, in and around cities and other large emissions sites such as industrial sites, transport infrastructures. The action should include:
Scientific and technical work, i.e. (1) the drafting of concepts, architecture and engineering plans for extending and upgrading existing European research infrastructures and, when relevant, the creation of instrumentation prototypes or testbeds for up-to-date instrument arrays; (2) plans for the efficient curation, preservation and provision of access to their data in line with FAIR principles;
Conceptual work i.e. (1) plans to integrate the new capacities into the existing European research infrastructures and related governance; (2) estimated budget for upgrade and operation and outlines of long-term funding plans;
Pilot implementation in at least one representative urban site, showing the engagement of national/local authorities and demonstrating the ability to integrate complementary measurement systems and methods as well as data. When applicable, the action should consider solutions relevant to air quality assessment e.g. measurement of co-emitted species from fossil fuel burning. It should address quality control, traceability of measurements, and standards. It should include the development of core data services upgrading the current services offered by the European research infrastructures. The action should address the selection criteria and process for selecting the pilot implementation site(s).
Roadmap for upscaling: The action should propose a flexible design with generic core elements and complementary observations depending on the specific nature of sites. The action should seek, at all stages, synergies, and interoperability among European research infrastructures and with air quality monitoring networks as well as coordination with European observational programs and initiative. In particular:
The action should propose strategies to engage stakeholders, including citizens, to build commitment at the local, national, and European level, and promote long-term sustainability.
The action should engage in networking and training and promote interoperability, dissemination, and exchange of experience and practices.
The action should propose an appropriate framework to coordinate with or contribute to key relevant European initiatives such as Copernicus, EOSC, and support global initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, IPCC. It should also ensure relevance to the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities by 2030.
The action should propose possible roadmaps for upscaling and replicating the solutions for enhancing the European research infrastructures.
Enhancing observations for air quality and citizens’ health in urban areas: The action should enhance urban air quality monitoring networks and other relevant observing infrastructures in measuring air pollutants such as particles and their precursors (both in mass and particles number concentrations, including specific nanoparticles data at traffic and airport sites). Engagement of the health community and citizens is required to address the scarce availability of sub 100nm particles concentration data, which has hampered epidemiological studies on their effects. The action should include:
Scientific and technical work to upgrade air quality monitoring networks ensuring measurement of maximum exposure to nanoparticles and efficient curation, preservation, and provision of access to data in line with FAIR principles;
Pilot implementation in at least two representative sites, showing the engagement of national/local authorities and demonstrating the ability to integrate complementary measurement systems and methods as well as data. It should address quality control, traceability of measurements, and standards. In particular, it should develop interoperable solutions and ensure measurements between cities are comparable. It should test innovative solutions such as mobile instrumentation and build on citizens’ observatories initiatives. The action should address the selection criteria and process for selecting the pilot implementation sites.
Roadmap for upscaling: The action should explore, at all stages, synergies, and interoperability with European research infrastructures, among air quality monitoring networks and, when relevant, satellite-based observations. The action should propose the optimal design of well-coordinated, inter-operable, large city-scale networks building on existing European research infrastructures and city air quality monitoring networks. In particular:
The action should propose strategies to engage stakeholders, including citizens, to build commitment at the local, national, and European level, and promote long-term sustainability.
The action should engage in networking and training and promote interoperability, dissemination, and exchange of experience and practices.
The action should propose an appropriate framework to coordinate with or contribute to key relevant European initiatives such as Copernicus, EOSC, and support global initiatives such as the Paris Agreement, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. It should also ensure relevance to the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities by 2030.
The action should propose possible roadmaps for upscaling and replicating the solutions for enhancing the European research infrastructures and city air quality monitoring networks.
Funding Information
Support Europe leadership in clean energy storage technologies: The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 7 million would allow this topic to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Enhancing European research infrastructures for greenhouse gases observation in and around cities: The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 13 million would allow this topic to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Enhancing observations for air quality and citizens’ health in urban areas: The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 8 million would allow this topic to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Eligibility Criteria
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon 2020 projects.
To be considered admissible, a proposal/application must be:
submitted in the electronic submission system before the deadline given in the call conditions or rules of the contest;
readable, accessible, and printable;
complete and include the requested administrative data, the proposal description, and any obligatory supporting documents specified in the call/contest;
include a draft plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results, unless otherwise specified in the call conditions. The draft plan is not required for proposals at the first stage of two-stage procedures.
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