New technologies and applications in the energy sector are funded by the European Union through the 7th Framework Programme. The European Commission opened energy calls for project proposals to provide funding to the successful projects. In addition, the Commission organized an Energy Research Information Day on the 24-25th of September 2008 to inform the interested institutions who wish to prepare energy projects and apply for European funding or to participate in other energy projects prepared by European partners. In the information day, the participants of the Information Day were informed about the funding opportunities and details of the call for proposals and guided by the European Commission officers in project preparation. TAGES participated in the event to represent the Turkish energy SMEs supported through TAGES’s FIRE project supported by the EU.
Energy Research Information Day was organized by the Directorate-General for Research (DG RTD) and the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN) of the European Commission and it had been the meeting point for energy experts from different countries with a common will for technological development and new applications in energy. TAGES participated in the event and represented the FIRE SMEs to support their participation in energy projects with European partners.
4 Calls Published to Support Energy Projects in 2009
On the first day of the meeting the participants were informed by the European Commission officers on the details of each project call (FP7-ENERGY-2009-1: A general call focusing on research with a long-term horizon, FP7-ENERGY-2009-2: A general call focusing on research with a short- and medium-term horizon and demonstration, FP7-ENERGY-2009-3: A call for coordination and support actions, FP7-ENERGY-BIOREFINERY: A joint call including knowledge-based economy, nano-material programme, environment). They were also informed on project themes and topics open for funding, the rules for participation in the Programme, preparation, submission and evaluation of proposals and provided recommendation by the EC officers. The information day had been a great opportunity for the experts since they had a general overview on the research priorities and objectives of the projects that will be funded by the European Commission, type of collaboration sought and hints to submit a proposal successfully.
On the second day, project owners who are planning to submit projects for funding had the chance to meet with European Commission project officers in charge of different topics and discuss their project ideas with the EC officers. In bilateral meetings, the participants were guided in adapting their proposals to the call requirements, and in submitting the proposal successfully.
Besides informing and guiding the participants in project preparation, the meeting had also been an opening for the participants by letting them share their project ideas with other participants by means of presenting new ideas on the information boards. Therefore, the participants sought for networking and collaboration opportunities in new energy projects. TAGES has established contacts with European energy experts for collaboration in energy projects on behalf of the Turkish FIRE SMEs.
You can also follow the energy calls for proposals from the following address:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP7CallsPage#Energy
