The Eurogia Scheme 2014 first call

Eurogia2020 is a subset of Eureka the long standing collaborative, near market, R&D scheme. The background and general eligibility criteria for Eureka are given in Background below.

EUROGIA+ is specifically supported by 17 countries amongst the EUREKA network with funding ring-fenced for EUROGIA+ projects. The amounts vary as do intervention rates and eligibility criteria from country to country

The Department for Environment and Climate Change (DECC)  will now provide specific funding for the EUROGIA+ projects over and above that made available through the normal EUREKA funding.

The key facts known to date are as follows.

The funding maximum will be for £1m for the UK component of a EUROGIA+ project. The funding levels are 40% for large companies, 50% for medium companies and 60% for small companies as a percentage of the total eligible UK project costs.

Thus large companies may now be funded and the funding levels both in intervention rate and maximum amount are much higher and would be available to SMEs under the SMART scheme where the limit would be £250,000.

What then do EUROGIA+ cluster projects involve? Projects must meet the standard EUREKA conditions outlined below and must address R&D into low carbon energy technology challenges and these are divided into: -

Renewable Energy sources e.g.

Biomass; wind; solar; hydro and ocean power and geothermal

Energy Efficiency e.g.

Efficiency in transport; power generation; lighting; heating and cooling ; energy storage; construction; materials and energy usage in industrial processes e.g. industrial heating, extraction of minerals, transformation industries, computers, FMCG etc.

Oil and Gas e.g.

Enhanced Oil Recovery from deep-offshore, super-deep reservoirs, remote areas, Arctic, or small hydrocarbon accumulations; Unconventional Hydrocarbon Resources e.g. shale gas; methane hydrates, or kerogen rich shales; improved transportation and storage and refining technologies

Use of Hydrogen e.g.

Fuel cells and related matters: hydrogen production; storage and distribution; use in stationary transport and portable applications...

EUROGIA+ does in fact encompass the whole energy mix and it is unlikely that any project addressing low carbon technology, even if not specifically mentioned, would not to qualify if sufficiently innovative and had good market potential.

DECC in the UK, have indicated that the UK key areas of interest, and thus probably for funding, are offshore wind, wave and tidal, carbon capture and storage, and energy storage. Nonetheless all EUROGIA+ areas will be considered as defined in the European Strategic Energy Technologies Plan which in essence reflects the EUROGIA+ targets.

Application to EUROGIA+

The application process for a EUROGIA+ project proposal is a two-stage submission and evaluation procedure.

The first phase will be to complete and submit a Project Outline (PO) of maximum 15 pages. The project coordinator is invited to present it through a 20 minutes oral presentation in front of the Technical Committee and it will be followed by 20 minutes questioning.  

Second phase: upon a successful evaluation of the PO by the Technical Committee, and based on the feedback from concerned Public Authorities, the applicants will be invited to fill in and submit a Full Project Proposal (FPP).

Following the evaluation of the FPP, the Technical Committee will give its recommendations to the EUROGIA Board, who in turn will decide to "label" i.e. approve, the project. With this label, project participants can apply for funding in their respective countries.

Obtaining the EUROGIA+ label does not of itself guarantee that DECC will fund the project although one would expect this to follow in the great majority of cases.

On approval by EUROGIA funding for your collaborative partner will come through national funding mechanisms relevant to the country of origin of the collaborative partner(s). Clearly funding for your collaborative partner is optimised if they are EUROGIA+ supporters in addition to being EUREKA members (which is mandatory). The EUROGIA+ supporters are: -

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey (and in collaboration with other Eureka Member States.)

Full EUREKA members are: -

Austria (1985), Belgium (1985), Bulgaria (2010), Croatia (2000), Cyprus (2002), Czech Republic (1995), Denmark (1985), Estonia (2001), Finland (1985), former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2008), France (1985), Germany (1985), Greece (1985), Hungary (1992), Iceland (1986), Ireland (1985), Israel (2000), Italy (1985), Latvia (2000), Lithuania (1999), Luxembourg (1985), Malta (2006), Monaco (2005), Montenegro (2012), the Netherlands (1985), Norway (1985), Poland (1995), Portugal (1985), Romania (1997), Russian Federation (1993), San Marino (2005), Serbia (2002), Slovak Republic (2001), Slovenia (1994), Spain (1985), Sweden (1985), Switzerland(1985), Turkey (1985), Ukraine (2006), United Kingdom (1985), European Commission (1985).

Immediate Actions

First round applications for 2014 will close on 14 February 2014

Grant Aid can help with all aspects of Eureka and EUROGIA+ applications including Project Outlines and Full Project Proposals. We can also help find partners throughout Eureka countries and help with JV /collaboration agreements

Please do contact us through the web site or by telephone on +44 1865 784046 asking for Jeremy Boardman.

Eureka Background

EUREKA, established for over 25 years is a European-wide network established to support market orientated R&D and innovation projects run by industry, research centres and universities encompassing all technological sectors. Currently it composes 41 members including all EU countries (see below).

EUREKA has developed specific clusters concentrating on technological areas deemed critical by the network. EUROGIA+ is the cluster for low carbon energy technologies.

EUREKA, as a unit, does not provide funds, with limited exceptions, as grants in support of R&D. The funding is provided by the national governments of the participating countries. In the UK currently EUREKA funding is only available to SMEs who may utilise the SMART grant in support of their projects i.e. upto £250k at a max 45% intervention rate.

EUREKA projects are always collaborative involving two or more bodies from two or more EUREKA member states. The projects are bottom up in that participants define the technological area for R&D which may be any sector or technology other than those connected with defence industries. This contrasts to most collaborative R&D where the subject matter is often extremely tightly defined in a top down manner by the granting bodies. Furthermore, EUREKA projects are expected to be close to market with the prospect of commercialisation within three years and a clear commercial objective defined as part of the project.