What is Horizon 2020 ?
Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract.
It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market
Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness.
Seen as a means to drive economic growth and create jobs, Horizon 2020 has the political backing of Europe’s leaders and the Members of the European Parliament. They agreed that research is an investment in our future and so put it at the heart of the EU’s blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.
By coupling research and innovation, Horizon 2020 is helping to achieve this with its emphasis on excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges. The goal is to ensure Europe produces world-class science, removes barriers to innovationand makes it easier for the public and private sectors to work together in delivering innovation.
Horizon 2020 is open to everyone, with a simple structure that reduces red tape and time so participants can focus on what is really important. This approach makes sure new projects get off the ground quickly – and achieve results faster.
The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will be complemented by further measures to complete and further develop the European Research Area. These measures will aim at breaking down barriers to create a genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation.
History of Horizon 2020
In 2011 the EU Heads of State and Government called on the European Commission to bring together all of the previous EU’s research and innovation funding private investment that this money will attract.
It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.
Horizon 2020
To provide solution for islands, GIFT develops innovative systems to allow islands to integrate vast amount of renewables. The solutions are implemented on the islands Hinnøya in Norway’s and Procida in Italy. After successful realisation, other islands in Greece and Italy are planned to follow.
Together with Hålogaland power, the municipality of Harstad is part of a major EU project that looks at decarbonisation of the energy mix on islands . The project, called GIFT, is in the 100 million class with 17 players in several countries, and part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 program, which is the EU’s major research and innovation program. It is considered the largest program of its kind in the world.
The solutions you come up with will be replicated to the Greek island of Evia and Italian Favignana. 1640 islands in Europe can use the solutions that projects come up with.
The overall project will look at several solutions that can provide directly lower carbon footprints. There can be energy management systems for ports, business and private, better analysis of consumption and better visualization of expected consumption over a period of time, innovative energy storage systems that allow a mix of environmentally friendly energy sources and utilization of other infrastructure. Overall, the solutions will help underpin the Paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
17 players
The Norwegian players are Harstad municipality, Hålogaland kraft, Hafenstrom and NTNU. In total there are 17 partners in 7 countries. It is an industrial partner, 9 small and medium-sized companies, 3 research centers, two municipalities and two universities.
The Norwegian part of this has its first meeting recently in Harstad.
– I am very happy that Harstad is involved in such a project. Our goal is to create renewal and environmental progress by working with a partnership that is a leader in renewable energy development and innovation, ”says Bjørn Akselsen, CEO of Harstad Municipality.
Horizon Europe will incorporate policy missions to ensure the effectiveness of research and innovation funding by pursuing clearly defined target
The Commission has engaged policy experts to develop studies, case studies and reports on how a mission-oriented policy approach will work.
Source 1: ec.europa.eu
Source 2: www.gift-h2020.eu
Source 3: www.harstad.kommune.no