Call: European Pre-Commercial Procurement Programme for Wave Energy Research &Development

To become more energy independent and climate resilient, many different approaches can be undertaken: Reduction of energy waste, better usage of already established energy sources or the devolvement of new sources. The development of wave energy is such a concept; the European Union is aiming for: They should be cost-effective and be able to survive the harsh and unpredictable ocean environment.

The design, development, and validation of wave energy converters should be done via demand-driven Pre-Commercial Procurement:

Scope

“The challenge is open to proposals seeking to steer wave energy research and development in an effective way at a European level establishing convergence of wave energy technologies and to bring these technologies to the market. […]

In this European PCP action it is the aim to elevate experience with national public procurement approaches at a European level to bring European Wave Energy Research and Development more efficiently into the direction of commercialization”.[1]

The proposed action is to be structured along an preparation phase, in which the participating users/buyers should agree on common performance levels and associated specifications for the wave energy systems and an execution stage, where the action will take care for the implementation of the Pre-Commercial Procurement and of the PCP contracts.

Expected Impact

The primary impacts are expected from this call:

1. Pool resources at national and EU levels dedicated to Research and Development and provide effectively a significant developmental boost of wave energy technology.
2. Convergence of wave energy technologies, acceleration of technology development, proof-of-concept and validation of wave energy technology for the benefit of the wave energy sector and as such improved knowledge transfer.
3. More effective use of public resources for Research and Demonstration.

Note: This article is based on the Horizon2020 Call “European Pre-Commercial Procurement Programme for Wave Energy Research &Development”

References

[1] European Commission: TOPIC: European Pre-Commercial Procurement Programme for Wave Energy Research & Development: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/lc-sc3-ja-3-2019.htmlProof