Author: administrador

The European Commission, in partnership with the UN Environment Finance Initiative, organizes a webinar on Financing Energy Efficiency in the Industry Sector on 13 December 2018, from 11.00 to 13.00 Central European Summer Time.

This webinar will hear 4 presentations:

• An introduction from DG Energy,  European Commission;
• Winfried Braumann, from REENAG, will present the projectTrustEEfunded by the Horizon 2020 programme. The project brings together industrial project developers, industrial owners, and financial investors to realise energy efficiency potential in the industry sector;
• Daniel Magallonfrom Energy BASE, will talk about the Energy Savings Insurance (ESI) Europe project, which uses mechanisms including standardised contracts and insurance to ensure and insure energy savings in particular in SMEs. This project has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme;
• Maria Nettofrom the Inter-American Development Bank will share their experience of supporting the set-up of an ESI mechanism in South America and will provide further background and experiences.

After these presentations, time will be allowed for questions and answers.

The webinar will be conducted in English and will be moderated by Bjoern Zapfel from the Executive Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises.

This is part of a series of webinars in the frame of the Sustainable Energy Investment Forums initiative; for further background information on the SEI Forums initiative and to see the agenda and presentations from previous and upcoming events, please visit the Sustainable Energy Investment Forums webpage.

Please register by 12 December 2018, clicking here.

This event is organised as part of the Sustainable Energy Investment Forums contract, funded under the EU Horizon 2020 programme and managed by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).

Date: 26 November 2018

Place: Auditorium of the old Palas Hotel. Plaza Puerta del Mar. Alicante.

The development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is vital for Europe’s competitiveness in today’s increasingly digitalised world economy.

The digital economy is growing seven times faster than the rest of the economy. But the current fragmentation of the pan-European policy framework hampers its potential. Europe lags behind other countries in terms of fast, reliable and connected digital networks that support our economies and are present at every moment of our private and professional lives. When communicating between countries, European citizens today face different costs, incompatible systems and irregular connectivity across the continent. This hurts all Europe’s citizens, businesses and innovators.

Moreover, although 250 million Europeans use the Internet every day, there are still millions who have never used it. People with disabilities have particular difficulties in enjoying new electronic content and services. More and more everyday tasks are being done online: to participate fully in society we all need more digital skills.

That’s why the EU implemented the Digital Agenda for Europe with the aim of boosting Europe’s economy by exploiting the sustainable economic and social benefits of the digital single market.

To implement these policies, the EU has, among others, more than €20,000 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) that are available for investments in the ICT field during the 2014-2020 funding period. These investments support the Commission’s initiative to create a digital single market, which has an additional growth potential of up to €250 billion.

It is in this context that the Diputación de Alicante organises the day Opportunities for European funding in ICT projects with the following objectives:

Objectives of the conference

To present the main programmes with European funding for projects incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Maximize the raising of European funds for ICT projects in the province of Alicante.
To analyse examples of good practice in ICT-related projects.
To publicise the European Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe.

Main addressees

Companies, startups, business associations, local and regional authorities, municipal and regional officials, public entities, local associations, local development agents and, in general, civil society involved in the development and implementation of ICT projects.

Date: 26 November 2018

Place: Auditorium of the old Palas Hotel. Plaza Puerta del Mar. Alicante.

Registration here

AGENDA

9:00 – 9:30 ACCREDITATION
9:30 – 10:00 INSTITUTIONAL WELCOME

Mr. D. Adrian Ballester. 5th Deputy Chairman of the Alicante Provincial Council and Deputy for Good Governance and European Funds.
H.E. Mr. Luis Barcala. Mayor of Alicante.

10:00 – 10:30 TIC TRENDS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Mrs. Montserrat Pardo Bayona. Director of Institutional Relations at Microsoft.

10:30 – 11:00 COMMUNITY FUNDING FOR DIGITISATION

Mr. Juan Manuel Revuelta. General Manager of Finnova.

11:00 – 11:30 COFFEE BREAK
11:30 – 13:30 EXPERIENCES OF EUROPEAN PROJECTS

Alcoy’s Digital Cities Challenge Project.
Pedro Ramiro. Municipal technician.
Kenus Informática. SmartGov Project of the H2020 program. Intelligent government and citizen participation through technology.
Gilberto Martínez. Responsible for European projects.
Vicente Peñalver Camps. Director.
Alicante Chamber of Commerce. Digitalisation programme for SMEs.
Íñigo Gorostizaga. Head of Innocamaras and Tics Chamber Programmes (FEDER)
Instituto Universitario de Investigación de Robótica y Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (University of Valencia).
Antonio Garcia Cell. Smart Cities Expert.
Juan José Martínez Durá. Director IRTIC.
Instituto Tecnológico de Informática (ITI).
David Todolí Ferrandis.

14:00 CLOSING SESSION

Mr. Juan Riera. President of the Alicante Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Adrian Ballester. 5th Deputy Chairman of the Alicante Provincial Council and Deputy for Good Governance and European Funds.

INSCRIPTIONS HERE

The StartUp Europe Awards recognise the effort of European startups in various categories: Creative, Energy, Fintech, Green, e-Health, Fashion, Gastronomy, Large Industry, Internet of Things, Smart Cities, Social, Tourism, Water, Agritech, Legal, Space, Govtech, Proptech, Cybersecurity, Climate and Edtech.

SEUA is an extremely useful tool to build the European ecosystem connecting all the players across the continent: “The Eurovision for Startups”.  And now we’re looking for you.

Our goal is to promote local entrepreneurshipand open innovation!!! In the last edition of SEUA we have reached more than 132 startups from 16 countries, involving 17 Members of the European Parliament as Ambassadors and over one hundred media partners from all over Europe. This time we want to make it bigger! And we need your help. Are you an accelerator in any of our categories? Are you an expert used to work with startups and entrepreneurial ecosystems? Are you running a local or national contest in any category? Join us!

Why become a SEUA partner?

Visibility and recognition

◦   To identify yourself as an organization concerned with promoting entrepreneurial activity in Europe, contributing to growth, job creation and wealth creation

◦   Your organization logo on SEUA website and social networks as a partner

◦   StartUp Europe Awards logo to use in your communications, that recognizes you as a partner of a European initiative backed by EU Commission

◦   Exposure to European authorities and European media

Opportunities

◦   Networking with other similar organizations and European institutions

◦   Information about events, funds, calls, best practises and training programs for entrepreneurs for your organization and your startups

◦   Possibility to develop a business model

◦   Our support on developing the StartUp Europe Awards methodology

What we are looking for:

◦   Organizations that have experience with startups and preferably in doing startup accelerator programs and contest, whose mission is innovation.

◦   The organization should find local media partners, which will depend on the level at which they operate (local, regional, national or European).

◦   The organization must have a multidisciplinary jury, or create it involving experts linked to the European Union.

To apply for being PARTNER for StartUp Europe Awards, please send an email to request the registration form. Deadline September 16th.

On June 18th, two of the projects in which the Finnova Foundation participates were awarded the IV Global Entreps Award 2018. In the Clean and Affordable Energy-Retail Market category, NOBEL GRID and in the Decent Work and Economic Growth category, Start Business Romania din Spania.

The ceremony took place at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels, within the framework of the International Congress #5Gcitizens, organized by Entreps – International Board of Owners and Entrepreneurs, on June 18th and 19th in Brussels. These awards are entirely dedicated to the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, which inspired the 17 categories that the awards have this year.

To collect the prize awarded to NOBEL GRID were some of the partners of the consortium such as the ETRA Group (Spain), leader in the project, together with Ecopower (Belgium) and the FINNOVA Foundation (Spain), where the CEO Juan Manuel Revuelta, was in charge of awarding the prize.

With regard to the Decent Work and Economic Growth category, those in charge of collecting the award for the Start Bussinness Romania din Spania project were L.T. Odobescu, Romanian ambassador and MEP Grapini, representative of the Romanian government.

Through these awards, the work of NOBEL GRID was recognized during the 42 months of the project, as an example of a successful case of Clean and Affordable Energy-Retail Market.  This project is funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, involves 21 European partners, with a budget of 13.9 million euros, and offers advanced tools and ICT services to all actors of the Smart Grid and the electricity market, in order to obtain greater benefits, such as cheaper prices, safer and more stable networks, and cleaner electricity.

These tools and services make it possible to democratize the energy market, bringing it closer to the consumer, so that itsin the electricity market becomes more active, as well as to promote new business models for new actors and the integrated distribution of renewable energy production.

Winners of the 4th Global Entreps Award 2018 (1) This award also recognises the social function of the Romanian programme Startup Romania din Spania in the category of Decent Work and Economic Growth. Through an entrepreneurship project, whose main objective is to estimulate entrepreneurship among Romanians living in Spain and job creation in Romania. This project is made possible thanks to EU funding under the Human Capital (Pocu) operational programme: StartUp Diaspora of the Romanian government. It focuses on offering certified online training in Romanian on entrepreneurship and offers 40,000 euros non-refundable to implement a successful business plan in Romania. The main requirement for participation is to have been registered in Spain for at least one year and to be an entrepreneur.

El proyecto Horizonte 2020 NOBEL GRID participará, con el apoyo de FINNOVA como socio de comunicación, en el taller organizado por ASM Terni SpA “Los ciudadanos se encuentran con la energía” el próximo 2 de Mayo en Terni (Italia). Esta reunión altamente interactiva tiene por objeto sensibilizar a los ciudadanos locales en torno a la transición hacia una energía sostenible y mostrar las soluciones energéticas inteligentes y limpias desarrolladas por NOBEL GRID.

“ASM Terni informará a sus ciudadanos locales sobre cómo la transición a una energía limpia en Europa está experimentando una transformación fundamental, pasando de un mercado energético altamente predecible, seguro y centralizado a un entorno mucho más dinámico, impredecible y descentralizado con millones de ciudadanos activos en el sector de la energía. Esta transición trae consigo una variedad de retos y oportunidades, ya que las fuentes de energía renovables intermitentes y variables están reemplazando a la generación de carga base despachable y controlable”, explica Paolo Ricci, Presidente de ASM Terni.

Durante este evento se mostrarán herramientas y soluciones para aprovechar todo el potencial de la energía verde y justa producida localmente, desarrollada en el marco del proyecto NOBEL GRID, destacando su impacto en la sostenibilidad de las ciudades.  Este evento combinará sesiones informativas con una discusión abierta e interactiva.  Se creará una plataforma para que los ciudadanos puedan hacer preguntas y dar su opinión y sugerencias.

Terni es un piloto para el proyecto, donde se prueban tecnologías energéticas inteligentes en el contexto local. NOBEL GRID trabaja para proporcionar herramientas avanzadas y servicios TIC a todos los actores de la red inteligente para asegurar que se beneficien de precios más baratos, redes más seguras y estables y electricidad limpia.

Según Ricci, “las herramientas energéticas de NOBEL GRID proporcionarán un mejor uso de la energía verde producida localmente, especialmente a partir de paneles fotovoltaicos, evitando las pérdidas de energía debidas al flujo inverso, fomentando la movilidad eléctrica y los servicios asociados y promoviendo nuevos modelos de negocio, la creación de empleo y el desarrollo social en el campo de la energía para hacer de Terni una ciudad inteligente y verde”.

Este taller es un evento asociado a la Semana Verde de la UE 2018 y a la Semana Europea de la Energía Sostenible 2018, los eventos anuales más importantes de los calendarios medioambientales y de desarrollo sostenible de Europa.

The Horizon 2020 project NOBEL GRID will participate, with the support of FINNOVA as a communication partner, in the workshop organized by ASM Terni SpA “Citizens meet energy” on May 2nd in Terni (Italy). This highly interactive meeting aims to raise awareness among local citizens about the transition to sustainable energy and to showcase the smart and clean energy solutions developed by NOBEL GRID.

“ASM Terni will inform their local citizens on how the European clean energy transition is undergoing a fundamental transformation from a highly predictable, secure and centralised energy market to a much more dynamic, unpredictable and decentralised environment with millions of active energy citizens. This transition brings along a variety of challenges and opportunities as intermittent and variable renewable power sources are replacing dispatchable and controllable base load generation”, explains Paolo Ricci, Presidente di ASM Terni. 

During this event, tools and solutions for exploiting the full potential of the green and fair energy produced locally, developed under the NOBEL GRID project, will be shown, emphasising their impact in making cities more sustainable.  This event will combine informative sessions with an open and interactive discussion.  A platform will be provided in order for citizens to ask questions and to give feedback and suggestions.

Terni is a pilot site for the project, testing smart energy technologies in the local context. NOBEL GRID (2015-2018) works to provide advanced tools and ICT services to all actors in the Smart Grid to ensure benefits from cheaper prices, more secure and stable grids and clean electricity.

According to Ricci, “the energy tools of NOBEL GRID will provide a better use of the green energy produced locally, especially from PV arrays, avoiding power losses due to the reverse power flow, foster the electric mobility and the associated services and promote new business models, jobs creation and social development in the field of energy for making Terni a smart and green city”.

This workshop is partner event of the EU Green Week 2018 and European Sustainable Energy Week 2018, the biggest annual events on Europe’s environmental and and sustainable development calendars.

Press release.

La Comisión Europea (CE) presentó ayer en Bruselas su nueva iniciativa en materia de energía: El Observatorio Europeo de Pobreza Energética (EPOV, por sus siglas en inglés),  una plataforma online que trabajará para “no dejar atrás a ningún ciudadano en la transición energética” y  abordar un reto que afecta a más de 50 millones de hogares europeos. 

“Ningún ciudadano debería quedarse atrás en la transición energética”, era una de las justificaciones a la creación de EPOV ofrecidas por el Comisario de Acción por el Clima y Energía, Miguel Arias Cañete, y el Director General de Energía, Dominique Ristori, quienes -junto al vicepresidente de la Comisión para la Unión de la Energía, Maroš Šefčovič y otros oradores de alto nivel- participaron en la inauguración del observatorio.

Los objetivos de EPOV van encaminados fundamentalmente a proporcionar datos fiables que muestren el alcance de esta problemática,  informar a la ciudadanía de las diferentes medidas para luchar contra la pobreza energética, promover entre las diferentes administraciones y sociedad civil la aplicación y puesta en marcha de esas medidas, difundir información y buenas prácticas, facilitar el intercambio de conocimientos entre los interesados, y respaldar la toma de decisiones a nivel local, nacional y europeo, entre otros.

El acceso a la energía es uno de los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible adoptados por las Naciones Unidas, según recordó el Director General de Energía, por ello, “la Unión Europea (UE) debería ser un líder y no un seguidor”.

Un liderazgo que necesitará la contribución de todos los estados miembros como explicó el vicepresidente de la Comisión para la Unión de la Energía, Maroš Šefčovič “el Observatorio desarrollará indicadores que midan la pobreza energética en toda la UE. Esto proporcionará, por primera vez, una visión global de la situación basada en datos comparables. Por lo tanto, estos datos serán útiles para los gobiernos nacionales y regionales, las ciudades, la sociedad civil e incluso los empresarios que ofrecen sus soluciones. Pero también, debe interactuar con los Estados miembros, las partes interesadas nacionales, regionales y locales. Debe contribuir con su experiencia y asistencia para alentarlos a luchar contra la pobreza energética”.

Durante el evento se presentó la plataforma online, así como, los diferentes recursos que dispone la misma para ayudar a los estados miembros en sus esfuerzos por luchar contra la pobreza energética. Dicha plataforma ofrece desde recursos educativos, información sobre medidas y políticas empleadas por distintos países, ejemplos de buenas prácticas, guías de orientación para los políticos, indicadores para medir la pobreza energética, bases de datos sobre partes interesadas, hasta oportunidades de colaboración con otras entidades, entre otras posibilidades.

Sin embargo, los panelistas incidieron ante la falta de homogeneidad en la definición del concepto de pobreza energética. En este sentido, el vicepresidente de la Comisión para la Unión de la Energía explicó que la “legislación EU actual ya exige que los estados miembros actúen sobre la pobreza energética una vez identificada. El problema es que dos de cada tres estados miembros no definen ni miden la pobreza energética. Esto significa que los hogares con bajo consumo de energía no son identificados ni atendidos. Pero mirar hacia otro lado no hará que este problema desaparezca”.

Para Theresa Griffin, eurodiputada del Grupo S&D, “Europa debe considerar cómo la legislación afectará a los consumidores más vulnerables” y enfatizó que “el consumidor debe estar en el centro de la justicia energética”.

En la actualidad este problema afecta a más de 50 millones de hogares en la UE lo cuales luchan por alcanzar unos niveles adecuados de calefacción, pagar sus facturas a tiempo y vivir en hogares libres de humedad y moho. Según informa la Comisión Europea, la conciencia de la pobreza energética está aumentando en Europa y ha sido identificada como una prioridad política por parte de varias instituciones de la UE, sobre todo en el paquete legislativo de la Comisión “Energía limpia para todos los europeos”.

Sin embargo,  actualmente ya hay proyectos en curso como NOBEL GRID, en el que Finnova es socio, que  están contribuyendo a combatir el desafío de la pobreza energética. NOBEL GRID está ayudando a hacer disponibles las nuevas tecnologías a todos al ofrecer soluciones fáciles de usar y asequibles para el monitoreo y control de energía en el hogar como gracias a sus herramientas SMX Smart Meter y SHIC  Smart Home Intelligent Controller . Las soluciones desarrolladas, a nivel del usuario final, agregador (DRFM) y operador de red (G3M), proporcionarán una mejor observación de la red en general, lo que significa que la detección de fallas o la pérdida de suministro de energía será más fácil de detectar y las medidas correctivas se realizará más rápido. Finalmente, habrá ahorros habilitados tanto para el operador de red como para los usuarios finales.

El proyecto EPOV tendrá una duración de 40 meses y estará formado por un consorcio de entidades europeas lideradas por la University of Manchester.

The new EU Energy Poverty Observatory will work to “not leave behind any citizen in the Energy Transition”

The European Commission (EC) presented yesterday in Brussels its new energy initiative: The European Energy Poverty Observatory (EPOV), an online platform that will contribute to Europe’s efforts to not leave behind any citizen in the Energy Transition and to address a challenge that affects more than 50 million households.

“No citizen should be left behind in the energy transition“, as one of the justifications for the creation of EPOV offered by the Commissioner for Action for Climate and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, and the General Director of Energy, Dominique Ristori, who – together with the VicePresident of the Energy Union Commission, Maroš Šefčovič and other high-level speakers – participated in the inauguration of the observatory.

The main goals of EPOV are to provide reliable data showing the scope of this problem,  to inform the public of the different measures to fight against energy poverty, to promote the application and implementation of those among the different administrations and civil society, to disseminate information and good practices, to facilitate exchange of knowledge among stakeholders, and to support informed decision-making at the local, national and EU level, among others.

Access to energy is one of the sustainable development objectives adopted by the United Nations, as the General Director of Energy recalled, therefore, “the European Union (EU) should be a leader and not a follower”.

A leadership that will need the contribution of all member states as explained Vice-President of the Energy Union Commission, Maroš Šefčovič “the Observatory will develop indicators measuring energy poverty across the EU. This will provide, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the situation based on comparable data. These data will therefore be useful for national and regional governments, for cities, for civil society and even for entrepreneurs pitching their solutions.But it is very important for me that the observatory will not only provide data and information. It must engage with Member States, national, regional and local stakeholders. It must contribute its expertise and assistance to encourage them to fight energy poverty.”

During the event, the online platform was presented, as well as its different settings available to help member states in their efforts to fight against energy poverty.

However, panellists agreed there’s no single definition of energy poverty because there’s no one-size-fits all response, as Šefčovič explained “our current legislation already requires that member states act on energy poverty once identified. The problem is that two out of every three member states do not define or measure energy poverty. This means that households with low energy consumption are not identified or cared for. But looking the other way will not make this problem go away. “

For Theresa Griffin, S & D Group MEP, “Europe must consider how legislation will affect the most vulnerable consumers” and emphasized that “the consumer must be at the center of energy justice“.

Currently this problem affects more than 50 million households in the EU, which struggle to achieve adequate heating levels, pay their bills on time and live in homes free of moisture and mold. As reported by the European Commission, the awareness of energy poverty is increasing in Europe and has been identified as a political priority by several EU institutions, especially in the legislative package of the Commission “Clean energy for all Europeans”.

However, there are ongoing projects like NOBEL GRID, in which Finnova is partner, that are already contributing to fight energy poverty challenge. By bringing user-friendly and affordable solutions for home energy monitoring (SMX – Smart Meter including both: metering and ‘smart’ services) and control (SHIC – Smart Home Intelligent Controller), the NOBEL GRID project is helping in making the new technologies available to everyone. The developed solutions, at the end-user, Aggregator (DRFM) and network operator (G3M) level, will provide improved observability of the overall network, meaning that failure detection or loss of power supply will be easier to detect, and the corrective measures will be performed faster. Finally, there will be savings enabled for both the network operator and the end-users.

The EPOV project will last 40 months and will be formed by a consortium of European entities led by the University of Manchester.

Este año, la SEMANA VERDE EUROPEA 2018, organizada por la Comisión Europea, tiene lugar del 21 al 25  de mayo  bajo la temática “Cuidades Verdes por un Futuro más Verde”.

Esta nueva edición de la Semana Verde UE explorará las formas en que la Unión Europea está ayudando a las ciudades a convertirse en mejores lugares para vivir y trabajar. Presentando sus desarrollos en política sobre calidad del aire, ruido, naturaleza y biodiversidad, gestión de residuos y agua, promoverá enfoques participativos para el desarrollo urbano, esquemas de redes y herramientas para compartir mejores prácticas; todo ello, involucrando a las autoridades locales y ciudadanos, y alentándolos a compartir su visión de un futuro sostenible.

El evento europeo por excelencia para la protección y la mejora del medio ambiente incluirá eventos en toda Europa, una conferencia de alto nivel en Bruselas del 22 al 24 de mayo de 2018 y eventos de apertura y clausura (21 y 25 de mayo) que tendrán lugar en los Estados miembros. Estos eventos de Apertura y Clausura de Alto Nivel tendrán un protagonismo particular, marcando el tono de los debates de la semana y mostrando conclusiones políticas al final.

Además de la conferencia de alto nivel que tendrá lugar en Bruselas, el programa también contará con una serie de eventos asociados que tendrán lugar en toda Europa 21 de abril y el 10 de junio de 2018, lo cuales serán propuestos y organizados por cualquier tipo de entidad europea o ciudadano.

La Semana Verde de la UE invita a todos europeos a convertirse en organizadores de eventos oficiales, estos podrán proponer actividades a nivel local, regional, nacional o europeo, y podrán incluir los siguientes tipos de eventos (entre otros muchos):

• eventos informativos o educativos
• ferias
• jornadas profesionales
• seminarios, talleres y conferencias
• eventos de sensibilización para niños, estudiantes y adultos
• jornadas de puertas abiertas y visitas guiadas
• eventos de capacitación y networking
• eventos online como webinars

Cualquier persona puede proponer organizar un evento oficial en el marco Semana Verde de la UE y puede dirigirse a cualquier audiencia. Los organizadores pueden obtener muchos beneficios como contar con el apoyo de la Comisión Europea (visibilidad en su web y uso de logo), incrementar su red de contactos, conocer nuevos proyectos e ideas, ganar visibilidad e impacto en medios de comunicación, construcción de alianzas y nuevas oportunidades de negocio,

Para formar parte de los eventos oficiales de la Semana Verde de la UE los interesados deberán presentar su propuesta a la Comisión Europea, quien validará y aceptará el mismo para que forme parte del programa de actividades en toda Europa. El plazo para preparar estas propuestas es el 30 de marzo 2018.

Si desea presentar su propuesta de EVENTO LA SEMANA VERDE Finnova puede ayudarle en la organización del mismo, póngase en contacto con nosotros.

Green cities for a greener future

This year the EUROPEAN GREEN WEEK 2018, organised by the European Commission, takes place from 21 to 25  May  under the topic  ‘Green cities for a greener future’.

The 2018 edition will explore ways in which the EU is helping cities to become better places to live and work. Showcasing policy developments on air quality, noise, nature and biodiversity, waste and water management, it will promote participatory approaches to urban development, networking schemes, and tools for sharing best practices, engaging local authorities and citizens, and encouraging them to share their vision of a sustainable future.

EU Green Week 2018 will include events across Europe, a high level conference in Brussels from 22-24 May 2018, and the opening event the 21st in Utrecht (The Netherlands) and the closing event the 25th in Madrid (Spain). These High Level Opening and Closing events will have a particular prominence, setting the tone for the week’s debates, and showcasing political conclusions at the end.

EU Green Week invites Europeans to become a Partner Event organisers from 21 April until 10 June 2018. Such events would be activities taking place at local, regional, national or European level and would include: Information, education or awareness-raising events; open doors days; info Days; guided tours and visits; seminars, workshops and conferences; training and networking events; exhibitions and fairs, festivals; online events, such as webinars.

Anyone can organise a Partner Event and they can be targeted at any audience, and gain a lot of benefits like getting the support from European Commission (promoted on the Green Week 2018 website and use the official Green Week branding (with the help of a specific toolkit), networking opportunities, meeting new projects and ideas, gaining visibility and impact in the media, building alliances and new business opportunities.

To become part of Partner Event of the EU Green Week, those interested organisers should submit their proposal to the European Commission, who will validate and accept it, once it validated the event will be part of the program of activities throughout Europe. Deadline for proposals: 30th March 2018. 

If you would like to submit YOUR Green Week Partner Event Finnova can give you support, contact us.

The European Commission announced today how it will spend €30 billion of the EU research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020 during 2018-2020. It will focus efforts on political priorities such as low carbon economy, climate action, circular economy, clean energy, among others.

The priorities presented today “are in line with the priorities of the Juncker’s Commission,” explained the Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, during the press conference.

Horizon 2020, the EU’s €77 billion research and innovation funding programme, supports scientific excellence in Europe and has contributed to high-profile scientific breakthroughs such as the discovery of exoplanets and gravitational waves.

“These breakthrough innovations will allow to create new markets, business models and jobs” explained Moedas. That is why Horizon 2020 will also be more geared towards boosting breakthrough, market-creating innovation.

The 2018-2020 Work Programme will focus efforts on fewer topics with bigger budgets, directly supporting the Commission’s political priorities:

• A low-carbon, climate resilient future: €3.3 billion
• Circular Economy: €1 billion
• Digitising and transforming European industry and services: €1.7 billion
• Security Union: €1 billion
• Migration: €200 million

€2.2 billion will be earmarked for clean energy projects in four interrelated areas: renewables, energy efficient buildings, electro-mobility and storage solutions, including €200 million to support the development and production in Europe of the next generation of electric batteries.

This budget also includes 2.7 billion euros to kick-start an European Innovation Council to support high-risk, high-gain innovation to create the markets of the future. Moreover, Horizon 2020 will make better use of its “crack the challenge” prizes to deliver breakthrough technology solutions to pressing problems faced by our citizens.

“Horizon 2020 is open to the world, as other countries outside the EU also contribute with innovations for societal challenges, so the new work program also reinforces international cooperation in research and innovation and will invest more than 1 EUR 30 million in 30 flagship initiatives in areas of common interest. As for example with Canada, Africa, India, US, Japan among others “added Moedas.

The new objectives of this program will allow “to gather under the same brand the European innovation” as suggested the Commissioner.

From this new budget, SMEs will also be able to benefit through the SME Instrument. As of October 2017, Horizon 2020 has in total funded more than 15 000 grants to the tune of €26.65 billion, of which almost €3.79 billion went to SMEs. The programme has also provided companies, in particular SMEs, with access to risk finance worth over €17 million under the “InnovFin – EU finance for innovators” scheme.

Europa invertirá 30.000 millones EUR en nuevas soluciones a los retos de la sociedad e innovación puntera

La Comisión Europea ha anunciado hoy cómo invertirá los 30.000 millones euros restantes del programa Horizonte 2020 de financiación de la investigación y la innovación de la Unión Europea para el periodo 2018-2020. Su objetivo es centrar esfuerzos en las prioridades políticas como economía baja en carbono, acción por el clima, economía circular, energías limpias, entre otras.

Las prioridades hoy presentadas “están en línea con las prioridades de la Comisión Juncker”,expresó el comisario de Investigación, Ciencia e Innovación, Carlos Moedas, durante a rueda de prensa en la que anunciaba las novedades del programa Horizonte 2020.

Horizonte 2020, el programa de financiación de la investigación y la innovación de la UE con una dotación de 77 000 millones EUR, apoya la excelencia científica en Europa y ha contribuido a avances científicos de alto nivel, como el descubrimiento de exoplanetas y de las ondas gravitatorias.

“Esta innovación pionera es la que permite la creación de nuevos mercados, nuevos modelos de negocio y nuevos empleos” explicaba Moedas. Por eso, el programa Horizonte 2020 también estará más orientado a impulsar la innovación puntera creadora de mercados.

El programa de trabajo 2018-2020 centrará sus esfuerzos en un número menor de temas con mayores presupuestos, apoyando directamente las prioridades políticas de la Comisión:

• Un futuro con bajas emisiones de carbono, a prueba de cambio climático: 3 300 millones EUR
• Economía circular: 1 000 millones EUR
• Digitalización y transformación de la industria y los servicios europeos: 1 700 millones de euros
• Unión de la Seguridad: 1 000 millones EUR
• Migración: 200 millones EUR

2.200 millones de euros e dedicarán a proyectos de energía limpia en cuatro ámbitos interrelacionados: energías renovables, eficiencia energética de los edificios, movilidad eléctrica y soluciones de almacenamiento, incluidos 200 millones EUR para apoyar el desarrollo y la producción en Europa de la próxima generación de baterías eléctricas.

Este presupuesto también contempla 2.700 millones de euros para poner en marcha un Consejo Europeo de Innovación para contribuir a que la innovación de alto riesgo y elevados beneficios cree los mercados del futuro. Además, Horizonte 2020 hará mejor uso de sus premios «Crack the challenge» para obtener soluciones tecnológicas punteras a los acuciantes problemas a los que se enfrentan nuestros ciudadanos.

“Horizonte 2020 está abierto al mundo, dado que otros países fuera de EU también contribuyen a la presentar soluciones a los retos de la sociedad, por ello, el nuevo programa de trabajo también refuerza la cooperación internacional en investigación e innovación e invertirá más de 1 000 millones EUR en 30 iniciativas emblemáticas en ámbitos de interés común. Como por ejemplo con Canada, África, Inda, US, Japón entre otros” añadía Moedas.

Los nuevos objetivos de este programa permitirán “recoger bajo una misma marca o insignia la innovación europea” según sugería el comisario europeo.

De este nuevo presupuesto, las Pymes también podrán verse beneficiadas y través del programa de financiación Instrumento PYME. Desde octubre de 2017, el programa Horizonte 2020 ha financiado en total más de 15 000 ayudas por un importe de 26 650 millones EUR, de los cuales casi 3 790 millones EUR se destinaron a las pymes. El programa también ha proporcionado a las empresas, en particular a las pymes, acceso a financiación de riesgo por valor de más de 17 millones EUR, gracias a la iniciativa «InnovFin – Financiación de la UE para los innovadores».