ENER2I · ENER2I (ENErgy Research to Innovation): Reinforcing cooperation with ENP countries on bridging the gap between energy research and energy innovation

Energy supply and usage and the stimulation of innovation activities are some of the most important challenges for the EU and for the Eastern European countries within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Increased resource efficiency and innovation in renewable and sustainable energy offers the best potential to solve the urgent, interrelated societal challenges of insecurity over energy supplies, growing energy demand, and looming climate change. The ENER2I project focuses on the need to find innovative and sustainable solutions to these challenges, directly addressing the gap between new energy research and European industry. Existing research results are not being sufficiently transferred into innovative processes and products, and in many countries cooperation among research institutes, universities, and the business sector are at an early stage of development. In order to bridge this gap and accelerate innovation performance, ENER2I will improve knowledge transfer and innovation support in the field of renewable energies and energy efficiency through a comprehensive trans-national cooperation programme. We propose to stimulate the linkages between research and innovation with effective knowledge transfer methods in the ENP countries Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova, and establish sustainable cooperation between research and innovation actors across EU and ENP countries with support from EU partners from Austria, Germany, Hungary. With a strong consortium of research organisations in the energy and innovation fields, innovation funding agencies, service providers, and SME support agencies, and a mix of proposed activities, including brokerage events and training workshops in each of the ENP partner countries, twinning schemes, and an innovation voucher scheme, we will address the difficult challenge of strengthening cooperation between research and business actors in EE/RES, while at the same time facilitating cooperation between EU and ENP actors.