The CSA Strategic Energy Technology for Industry in Europe (SET-IndEU) is responding to the call HORIZON-CL5-2022-D4-02-06, to propose a structured Secretariat for supporting and strengthening the activities and outcomes of the IWG6 on Energy Efficiency in Industry. The consortium will support the IWG6 to advance the monitoring and revision of the Action 6 Implementation Plan (IP) with the aim of reaching technology targets collectively across SET Plan countries making EU industry less energy, resource and emissions intensive and more competitive. For that purpose, the future needs of the process industry, the R&I targets, and the emerging policy priorities will all be taken into consideration by engaging the IWG6 stakeholders in key activities with industrial and research associations and fora, specifically strengthening the relations, dialogue and exchange with the other SET Plan IWGs and the ETIPs.

Recognising that current storage solutions are unable to stabilize enough the intermittent renewable energy production, new long term energy storage solutions are becoming mandatory. Current long-term energy storage is mainly provided by Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity (PSH). Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) has appeared for decades as a credible alternative but its poor energy efficiency, the need of fossil fuels and the use of existing underground cavities as storage reservoirs have limited its development. Variations to CAES have shown low efficiency, losing a big percentage of energy as heat and mechanical losses. Since the 2010s, there is a strong revival of scientific and industrial interest on CAES, led by China and the European Union (EU). For the EU, leading the new generation of high-efficient, low climate-impact and long-term energy storage research, is key to increase its energy independency. In this context, the main objective of Air4NRG is the development of an innovative, efficient (over 70% RTE), long- term, and sustainable CAES prototype, which can enhance renewable energy availability and offers robustness and safety while increasing cost effectiveness and improving the environmental footprint. At the same time, it will promote innovation and competitiveness in the European energy storage industry, while prioritizing the principles of circular economy and environmental sustainability. Another key factor of the solution is the integrability to the electrical grid system and their intelligent EMS, which will be proven by the end of the project through end user integration activities (TRL5). The project will result in two prototypes: one of them will be a plug and play system fitting into a standard 40ft container with an over ten- hours storage duration, while the other will be a larger-scale system of 200kW with the same duration of storage. The developed system is a rare material-free solution with simple industrial infrastructure needs, allowing its full development within the EU, strengthening Europes position in the energy storage system sector.

The ambitious plan for an energy transition in Europe now seeks to achieve a low-carbon climate-resilient future in a safe and cost-effective way, serving as an example worldwide. In many European countries, the phase out of nuclear and coal generation has started with a transition to new renewable sources comprising mainly of solar and wind for electricity generation. However, solar and wind are variable energy sources and difficult to align with demand. Hydropower which strongly contributed during the last century to industrial development and welfare, provides high flexibility and storage services required for ensuring energy security and delivering more solar and wind power onto the grid. Hydropower has all the characteristics to serve as an excellent catalyst for a successful energy transition. Building from this extensive programme of consultation, the Hydropower Europe Forum (https://hydropower-europe.eu/) has developed from 2018 to 2022 a Research and Innovation Agenda (RIA) as well as a Strategic Industry Roadmap (SIR). The Consortium is particularly motivated (1) to integrate its RIA and SIR into the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan roadmap establishing links with national authorities and (2) to consolidate its strong networks into a sustainable association serving not only the hydropower sector but the whole renewable energy sector contributing towards the European Green Deal. Built on the more than 600 stakeholders representing all sectors, who actively participated through the Hydropower Europe Forum, ETIP HYDROPOWER will further align and coordinate the industry RIA and SIR strategies to provide consensus-based strategic advice to the SET Plan covering analysis of market opportunities and R&I funding needs, biodiversity protection and ecological continuity. Another goal is, in one with Europe and the latest EU climate and energy related policies, deepening the understanding of innovation barriers and exploitation of research results.

The aim of this proposal is to promote and facilitate technologically, financially, and operationally mature projects from Horizon 2020 to reach deployment phase by means of developing synergies with the ETS Innovation Fund. The overall objective of H2IF is to validate such connection could be effective between promising Horizon funded R&I results and Innovation Fund for hydrogen and energy storage projects. This proof of concept will be made thanks to the scaling-up and submission of 3 projects to the Innovation Fund instrument, all of them having been selected due to their high ‘climate neutrality’ potential, their innovation degree, while already being supported by Horizon 2020.

Currently, hydraulic turbines are employed across a broad spectrum of operational regimes. A particular case is represented by the environmental flow (E-flows), which are essential for the conservation of fluvial ecosystems but often force to operate out of design parameters or rather switch off the plants. On the other hand, the impact of HPPs on water quality and biodiversity up- and downstream is enormous and should also be a target for refurbishing actions. In this context, the SHERPA project will develop and validate innovative technologies for refurbishing current HPPs, namely, 1) AM metallic patches and coatings to minimize damage and enhance resistance to cavitation, 2) new strategies to adapt rotational speed depending on the flow range, 3) advanced air injection systems to improve water quality and efficiency; 4) new runner designs adapted to E-flows increasing performance. Modelling, simulation, and monitoring tools will assess the new solutions of the in terms of energy output, flexible operation, cost-effectiveness, and impact on biodiversity. The goal is to expand and/or adapt the operational range of the HPP to include lower flows, without this harming their lifetime, economic viability, and environmental and social impact. In order to meet this objective, the project proposes a methodology comprising 8 work packages groups in four blocks to be carried out during 42 months. SHERPA has a well-balanced consortium with 7 partners from 4 countries, covering all the competences and know-how in terms of expertise, resources and positioning in the field, which will ensure the achievement of the project objectives and make an impact at European level.