Research Infrastructures to face energy challenges

Europe`s economy is increasingly dependent on scientific and technological innovation. On top we are facing an increasing number of “Grand Challenges”. Securing energy supply and reducing at the same time the emission of greenhouse gases is one of them. To tackle with these challenges, ESFRI has set up a Thematic Working Group in the Energy area. Research Infrastructures plays an increasing role in supporting science and innovation in Europe.

The European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) has the mission to support a coherent and strategy-led approach to policy-making on new and existing pan-European and global RIs and to facilitate multilateral initiatives leading to the better use and development of Research Infrastructures, at EU and international level. In this context ESFRI has dawn up a process where Research Infrastructures of pan-European interest and upgrades of existing one are analysed by peer review using experts with deep knowledge in the various research areas. This process led 2006 to the first European Roadmap of research infrastructures which had been updated twice. The latest update of the Roadmap 2010 has dealt with the areas energy and biological and medical sciences. The presentation will explain the process to set up the roadmap and present some examples.

The energy domain is by its nature multi- and inter-disciplinary, often at the very borderline between research, technology and industry.

The European and International concerns about sustainable energy use and production call for a global approach in which research has to foster innovative technologies, both to meet the goal of reducing the impact of green-house gases and to promote the competitiveness of energy sources.

ESFRI has therefore decided to create a specific working group to evaluate proposals for research infrastructures in the energy domain, even if several existing research infrastructures are already providing an essential contribution to this domain, like, for instance, the multidisciplinary facilities for material studies.

Concerning the new proposals, the greatest challenge for the Energy Working Group had been to outline better what can be defined, in this domain, as a "research infrastructure".

The innovation path between fundamental research and an industrial application is characterised by three stages of "infrastructures": the research and the industrial pre-prototype ones at its two extremes, and an intermediate stage, a "research demonstrator", in which the validation of the concept still needs strong interactions between academic and industrial worlds to build an emerging technology. We should also note that the innovation path is not always a "linear" one, but needs often to reiterate between research and industry.

The first stage is clearly in the scope of ESFRI, the last one is more the object of other European, namely the Set-plan, or National, Initiatives.

The intermediate stage is often undefined, but it is the key for technology break-throughs resulting in industrial innovations, and is the place where most reiteration between research and development takes place. Depending on the amount of fundamental research which is still needed, it can be eligible for the ESFRI list.

Beside this classification, it is of outmost importance that an appropriate funding scheme is elaborated, to assure the realisation of research infrastructure and also of "research demonstrators" by sharing the industrial investment risk by public-private partnerships and allow European industry to have access to the full pan-European research potential.

In this report, we summarize the work which has been carried off by 18 European experts, seconded by two advisors and an EC scientific officer, during one year to evaluate 12 proposals.

Three of which are recommended to be included in the ESFRI list as they are considered to be essential tools to boost European research: EU-SOLARIS, MYRRHA and WINDSCANNER.

It would be misleading to assume that the proposals not proposed for the Roadmap are unnecessary. In some cases they will play an essential role for European industry and technology competitiveness, although their basic research character is not sufficiently developed. In some other cases, additional work is necessary to better develop and consolidate an emerging proposal.

Research infrastructures are and will be essential for the excellence of European Research, which has to become even more a source of innovation for our industry, building together our common sustainable future.