Horizon 2020: the EU Commission presents three awards for a total of €3.25 million
Horizon 2020: the EU Commission presents three awards for a total of €3.25 million for innovation in photovoltaics, hospital heating and carbon dioxide reuse.
Last July the European Commission published a 3.25 million euro call for the allocation of 3 new awards under the Horizon 2020 program for research and innovation in the field of energy.
The topics of these three calls are related to renewable energies and their potential exploitation in different sectors:
- photovoltaics meets history (photovoltaics in historical urban districts): a 750 thousand euro worth award; application submission by September 26, 2018. It will go to the best architectural and aesthetic project for a photovoltaic energy system which can, at the same time, offer an optimal technical solution. The award deals with the technical constraints related to the integration of photovoltaic energy sources in historic urban districts.
- low carbon hospital (research of energy sources for hospital heating): a 1 million euro worth award; application submission by April 3, 2019. It will go to the innovative solution that integrates different technologies into a single energy system capable of ensuring uninterrupted energy supply. The award deals with the possibility of finding solutions for a 100% use of renewable energy sources for heating and energy production in hospitals.
- CO2 reuse (carbon dioxide reuse): a 1.5 million euro worth award; application submission by April 3rd, 2019. It will go to the developer of an innovative product capable of reusing carbon dioxide, thus making a real contribution to emissions reduction.
What is Horizon 2020?
Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument, developed by the European Commission, dedicated to research and innovation with a nearly 80 billion euro budget, for 7 years (2014-2020). To date, the first 100 projects have already been completed.
Horizon 2020 funds research projects aimed at scientific and technological innovation, which can produce a real and meaningful change in daily life.
In practice, 5 ambitious goals were set to be reached by 2020:
- employment
- innovation
- education
- social inclusion
- climate/energy
The three main goals of Horizon 2020 are:
- Exellent science, with a 24,598 billion euro budget, aimed at ensuring Europe's worldwide leadership in science.
- Industrial Leadership, with a 17,938 billion euro budget, aimed at supporting the European industry's reasearch and innovation. Its main focus is on enabling technologies and investments in small businesses.
- Societal challenges, with a 31,748 billion euro budget for resources aimed at facing big global challenges in the following sectors:
- health, demographic chance and wellbeing;
- food safety, sustainable agriculture, bio-economy;
- safe, clean and efficient energy;
- smart means of transportation, which are "green" and consistent with climatic actions and resource efficiency (including raw materials) for an inclusive, innovative and safe society.
Here's a video playlist provided by the European Commission that explains what Horizon 2020 actually is, who can participate and what the main topics of the Project are.