Nowadays, the European Union's (EU) energy system relies heavily on centralized electricity production and fuel imports. About 95% of oil and 84% of gas consumption comes from countries outside the EU.
The REPowerEU Plan proposes a set of actions aimed at reducing the EU's dependence on fossil fuels and making the energy transition "well before 2030". The main pillars of the plan are:
Increase green energy production;
Reduce demand for fossil gas, coal and oil.
Renewable energy vouchers are decentralized renewable energy systems. They can take various configurations, such as peri-urban settings, agro-industrial clusters, or remote or island areas. They can also take the form of distinct but combined systems or single polygeneration systems (on the same infrastructure) to provide multiple energy users from combined renewable energy resources and technologies.
Main goals
The project results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
Contribute to the implementation of the REPowerEU Plan namely to:
Diversify the gas supply by increasing the levels of sustainable biomethane (based mainly on organic and agricultural waste) and green hydrogen
Accelerate Europe's path to fossil fuel independence by increasing the share of renewable energy (electricity, heat and fuels) in European energy consumption;
Increase the deployment of local or regional renewable energy systems for electricity, heating and fuel needs and contribute to their uptake on the European market;
Create sustainable jobs linked to local or regional renewable energy system value chains and increase economic growth in European communities;
Increase the security and autonomy of local or regional energy supply in EU Member States/Associated Countries under current and future climate conditions;
Increase the readiness, reliability, performance and affordability of local or regional renewable energy system solutions in Europe.
Beneficiaries
Any legal entity, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organizations are eligible to participate (whether eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions set out in the Horizon Europe Regulations are met, as well as, any conditions set out in the notice.
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
Overseas Countries and Territories linked to Member States;
Countries associated to Horizon Europe.
Incentive Rate
Innovation Actions: 70% (except for non-profit entities, where a rate of up to 100% applies)
Budget
The total budget for this call is EUR 40 M (EUR 20 M per project)
Submission Deadline
The deadline for submission of applications is 17:00 on 30th March 2023 (Brussels time)
