Unlocking synergies: How EU research projects collaborate for impact

18th October 2024 at 9:00 am

The European Union’s vision for an innovative, sustainable future is closely tied to the Green Deal, which is intended to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. European-Union-funded research and innovation projects in the energy sector are vital to achieving this ambitious goal. They foster collaborations that are crucial for the development of cutting-edge technologies and the market uptake of solutions that support a green future. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the EU places significant emphasis on clustering actions, in which projects within similar domains collaborate to maximise impact. Such coordinated efforts not only accelerate progress but ensure that the Green Deal objectives of the EU are met, as well as robust and scalable results.

How should we establish these collaborations and find the best network? At accelopment, we leverage two approaches: 1) firstly, we benefit from our extended portfolio of projects, which we have often been involved in from the grant preparation stage, bringing together experts from various fields and organisations. 2) Secondly, our experience in Communications and Dissemination, as well as Project Management, facilitates finding synergies and establishing cooperation with other relevant projects. Additionally, as these exchanges between projects lay the groundwork for future initiatives and sustained collaboration beyond a project’s lifecycle, our project partners find accelGRANTS® Strategic Planning service helpful in identifying follow-up opportunities.

Practical strategies for cross-project collaboration

There are different ways to ensure cross-project exchange. Find ways to leverage opportunities for collaborations if you have not planned these at the proposal stage. Here are some examples of how you can do so based on our experience:

Although it may seem to require a great deal of effort, running a thorough project search to identify the relevant initiatives, define overlaps and seek contact points is a good starting point. Given the increasing need in this regard, accelopment takes such actions and organises so-called ‘landscaping workshops’ to further identify synergies and joint activities. In the long term, these can lead to new collaborations in the form of follow-up actions or result in new scientific tasks.
Use partners’ networks. Our experience shows that being involved in multiple EU-funded projects as a partner facilitates building networks and establishing lasting collaborations. Map your scientific and non-scientific net of connections and identify research complementarities.
Benefit from international conferences and events. Taken from our broad project portfolio, PEPPERONI is a good example of how cross-project exchange can translate into actionable points, especially for the latest joint activity at the 41st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC). Amid various contributions on the part of the PEPPERONI partners, two activities that took place at the EU PVSEC in Vienna can be used as showcases when we consider how cross-project collaboration can be fostered outside the defined ‘clusters’.

PEPPERONI joined forces with two other European Innovation projects funded under the same call, IBC4EU and PILATUS, in a parallel event on Manufacturing Innovative PV Technologies in the EU – Chances and Challenges. Held on Wednesday, 25 September 2024, the session, which was followed by the panel discussion of industry, academia and European Commission representatives, provided an excellent conclusion to the efforts of the projects’ coordinating teams. accelopment has been facilitating the process on the project side by attending brainstorming sessions regarding the programme, developing promotional materials and presentations and running communication campaigns across channels. All this made it easy for contributing partners to deliver engaging and insightful presentations about the project.
Under the leadership of accelopment, PEPPERONI has also joined collaborative efforts with ten other EU-funded projects focused on perovskite technology, the so-called ‘Perovskite Network’. As part of this collaboration, six projects, PEPPERONI, NEXUS, VALHALLA, PEARL, LUMINOSITY and DIAMOND, decided to create a space dedicated to facilitating these collaborations and promoting ongoing work with various materials. This booth served as a vibrant hub for knowledge exchange, successfully bringing together project partners from various perovskite-related initiatives. These exchanges helped foster deeper collaboration and mutual learning between the projects, achieving the booth’s primary goal. It was also an excellent opportunity to distribute flyers and display other materials tailored to the event that were made by our creative team at accelopment.

4. Events promoted by the EU:

A dedicated page with filtering options will facilitate the search for an appropriate opportunity. This is how one can find Sustainable Places 2024 (SP2024), Europe’s first destination for EU research collaboration and market opportunities. The 12th Annual Edition of SP took place from 23 to 25 September 2024 in Luxembourg, where the HEAT-INSYDE project partners decided to organise an in-person workshop on ‘A compact and sustainable heat storage solution for clean energy’. Five heat storage experts presented the innovative technology behind the HEAT-INSYDE heat battery and its integration with current and future technologies. With a focus on disseminating research results, the event also boosted networking opportunities with other ongoing EU projects. With a turnout of 200 on-site participants attending, the workshop was an excellent opportunity to increase awareness about HEAT-INSYDE and foster interactions with potential end-users.

Sometimes, project officers share relevant opportunities with project coordinators. One such example is Enlit Europe. Although it is not an official EU conference, like EU Green Week, it aims to connect industries, inspire action and help Europe evolve into a single dependable, decarbonised and digitalised energy system for the energy transition. Enlit Europe also hosts a dedicated zone for EU-funded projects, with more than 25 exhibitors, complemented with Projects Zone Hub sessions focusing on showcased projects and developed technologies, including energy data spaces, energy efficiency and optimisation with AI, grid technologies and policy.

Two team members of accelopment who lead communication and dissemination in Green Deal projects, Joanna and Miriam, will represent their projects at the Enlit Europe conference, exploring further opportunities for collaborations. Are you also attending the event? Feel free to reach out and meet them in person in Milan on 23 October 2024.

Supporting your path to successful research collaboration

We are always happy to support researchers in their Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation endeavours at the proposal and project implementation stages. Do not hesitate to contact our experts for more information. Do you want to have a look at funding opportunities in the energy area prior to contacting us? You can find an overview of open calls for proposals in our recent blog post on trends in the renewable energy market.

Joanna Plesniak
Project Manager Communications, Group Lead

Miriam Frances
Project Manager Communications