This document summarizes the final set of calls for proposals under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) in 2013, with a specific focus on the Energy theme.
Here is a summary based on the details provided:
1. General Research Theme / Subjects
The overarching theme is the efficient energy and related societal challenges, with a focus on areas essential for economic and environmental goals:
- Efficient Energy: A general priority for investment.
- Smart Cities: Developing integrated solutions for energy, transport, and ICT in urban areas.
- Ocean Research: The “Ocean of Tomorrow” call, which typically includes marine energy and related technologies.
- Integrated Research Programmes (IRP): Supporting coordinated, large-scale research efforts in key energy domains.
- Cross-Cutting Themes: The overall FP7 package prioritizes themes such as preserving oceans and water, better use of raw materials, promoting efficiency in biological resources, and developing smart cities.
- Gas Turbines: Notably, there were no FP7 calls directly related to gas turbine technology in this work programme.
2. Objectives
The objective of the 2013 calls was to invest €8.1 billion in research and innovation to address key concerns facing Europeans at the EU level.
- Strategic Goal: Fund the largest and final set of FP7 calls before the launch of the successor programme, Horizon 2020 (2014-2020).
- Thematic Goal: Invest €4.8 billion in thematic areas, with energy efficiency being a key component, to drive innovation and address societal challenges.
- SME Support: Provide €1.2 billion in special incentives to encourage participation and innovation from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
3. Financial Data – Indicative Values (EU Contribution)
The six calls specifically identified under the Energy theme total over €553 million in budget contributions.
| Call Identifier | Call Title | Deadline | Budget (Total EU Contribution) |
| FP7-ENERGY-2013-1 | Energy Call – Part 1 | 28 November 2012 | €107,500,000 |
| FP7-SMARTCITIES-2013 | Smart Cities and Communities | 4 December 2012 | €209,000,000 |
| FP7-ENERGY-2013-IRP | Energy Call – Integrated Research Programmes | 8 January 2013 | €37,500,000 |
| FP7-ENERGY-2013-2 | Energy Call part 2 | 24 January 2013 | €83,000,000 |
| FP7-OCEAN-2013 | The Ocean of Tomorrow 2013 | 7 February 2013 | €55,000,000 |
| FP7-ERANET-2013-RTD | ERA-NET Call 2013 | 28 February 2013 | €61,100,000 |
| TOTAL (6 Calls) | €553,100,000 |
4. Funded Organisations / Key Participants
- Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs): The programme recognized SMEs as vital for innovation and allocated a significant dedicated package of €1.2 billion across all calls to encourage their participation.
- Consortia/Partners: The nature of FP7 calls (Collaborative Projects, ERA-NETs) mandates participation from multiple European partners (universities, research centers, industry) to form international consortia.
- Public/Private Sector: The “Smart Cities and Communities” call often involves partnerships between public authorities (cities) and private companies for large-scale demonstration projects.
5. Research Methods / Approaches
The calls were structured to cover various funding schemes:
- Standard Collaborative Projects (FP7-ENERGY-2013-1 & 2): Supporting research and technological development (RTD) projects.
- Integrated Research Programmes (FP7-ENERGY-2013-IRP): Likely supporting large, structured, long-term research agendas.
- Joint Actions (FP7-ERANET-2013-RTD): Supporting coordination and collaboration between national/regional research funding bodies.
- Demonstration/Deployment (FP7-SMARTCITIES-2013): Focused on large-scale demonstration projects in cities.
6. Deliverables (Output Types)
Typical FP7 deliverables from these calls would include:
- Technologies: New and improved energy generation, storage, transmission, and efficiency technologies.
- Demonstration Projects: Large-scale, integrated solutions for energy efficiency and smart systems in real-world urban environments (Smart Cities).
- Scientific Knowledge: Advancement in integrated research areas (IRP) and marine technology (Ocean of Tomorrow).
- Policy Support/Coordination: Outcomes from the ERA-NET call to harmonize national/regional research funding activities.
7. Case Studies (Examples from Indicative Topics)
The document does not list specific topics for the Energy Calls (Part 1, Part 2, or IRP), but the call titles imply specific focus areas:
- Cities/Buildings: Smart Cities and Communities call focuses on integrated urban energy solutions.
- Marine Environment: The Ocean of Tomorrow call includes research related to offshore and marine energy resources.
- Integrated Research: The IRP call targets long-term, high-impact research areas within the energy field (e.g., specific renewable energy technologies, or nuclear safety/waste management).
8. Website/Archive Links and Contact Information
- Website/Archive: The full 2013 Work Programme on Energy and the presentations/webcasts from the Information Day (4 July 2012) were available via the links provided in the original announcement. The primary archive for all funded projects is the CORDIS website (archived content for FP7).
- Project/Team Contacts: For project-specific details (coordinator, partners), the CORDIS archive is the authoritative source.
- Specific Contact: For more information on the individual calls, interested parties were directed to the ETN office.
