CETP: JOINT CALL 2023

Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is contributing up to $3 million to the Clean Energy Transition Partnership’s (CETP) Joint Call 2023. CETP is a transnational initiative for joint research, technological development, and innovation (RTDI) programming to boost and accelerate the energy transition. The global funding program is open to projects in 30 participating countries.

ERA funding will focus on facilitating the development and adoption of technologies for effective production, transport, and end-use of hydrogen and renewable fuels, including security aspects; and accelerating the development of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies to have a significant contribution to the green transition and lead to significant CO2 emission reduction by 2030 and pave way for net zero CO2 emissions from 2050 and onwards. ERA funding is sourced from the Government of Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund.

CETP collaborates with funding partners within and beyond Europe to broaden the global knowledge and experience base and introduce European solutions and stakeholders to global value chains. ERA joined CETP in January 2022. The initiative enables 50 national and regional funding partners from 30 countries to align on priorities, pool budgets for two joint calls in 2022 and 2023, and to implement annual calls until 2027.

CETP’s second funding Call, Joint Call 2023 is structured into 7 thematic Transition Initiatives (TRIs) that address challenges outlined in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), a 10-year roadmap created by CETP in 2020 that is endorsed by the European Commission.

ERA’s investment is focused on TRI3: Enabling Climate Neutrality with Storage Technologies, Renewable Fuels, and CCUS. The primary goal of the CETP TRI3 is to provide technologically cleaner solutions for storage technologies, hydrogen, and renewable fuels, as well as CCUS while also promoting RD&D and innovation projects to achieve global climate neutrality by 2050. Funding from ERA is available for projects at the technology scale-up, field pilot, commercial demonstration, or commercial implementation stages.

FOCUS AREAS

Project proposals require a project consortium consisting of at least three eligible applicants from at least three separate countries/regions participating in CETP TRI3 Call. Consortia with partners from other countries are welcome if these organizations are funded by sources other than CETP. This partnership requirement demonstrates international collaboration and is a way for countries to leverage new knowledge, expertise, and resources.

For Matchmaking opportunities, please register at the CETPartnership platform.

In the Joint Call 2023, the CETP TRI3 offers two call modules:

Module 4: Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)

CCUS Call Module is seeking innovative projects that aim to encompass a wide spectrum of technologies to capture CO2 from point sources or directly from the air and either store it in porous geological formations, onshore or offshore, or use CO2 to produce valuable products. Research target areas for CCUS are:

  • CO2-capture from energy intensive or heavy industry sectors, as well as power, maritime transport, and hydrogen produced from natural gas, and storage-based CO2 removal
  • Advancing lower cost CO2 capture technologies that can effectively remove 95-100% of CO2 from flue gases with dilute CO2 concentrations
  • CO2-storage sites, including elements that are needed for characterization and management of large-scale permanent of CO2
  • Enabling CCUS technologies that industry views as high priority
  • Transport and injection of CO2
  • Reuse of existing energy assets for CCUS
  • Negative emission technologies, Carbon Dioxide Removal technologies
Module 5: Hydrogen and Renewable Fuels

Hydrogen and renewable fuels encompass the development of innovative technologies for cost-effective, energy-efficient, and carbon/resource-efficient systems.

Research target areas for hydrogen technologies are:

  • New or improved processes for hydrogen production as:
    • Water through new electrolysis concepts or alternative processes to electrolysis
    • Hydrogen obtained from biomass or other resources, potentially coupled with CCS, including integration with other processes like electrolysis; or
    • Hydrogen coupled with CCS, including integration with other processes like electrolysis
  • Storage of hydrogen through ammonia or other hydrogen liquid carriers, for the production of ammonia, research into alternative, economically viable, less-energy intensive processes
  • Infrastructure and distribution aspects, including pipeline reuse and cost competitive materials for pipelines
  • End-use applications are considered

Research target areas for renewable fuels technologies are:

  • New or improved conversion processes for renewable fuels production, using different types of feedstocks including wastes
  • New or improved upgrading technologies, such as those applied to biogas and biosyngas for biomethane production
  • New or improved cost-efficient methanation technologies
  • New fuels for marine engines, aviation and heat & power generation
  • Renewable ammonia, to include cost-effective production technologies using different types of feedstock

Mandatory Focus – besides focusing on the topics above, projects must address at least one of the cross-cutting and multidisciplinary topics. They can be transition pathways, circularity, digitalization, as well as policy and social aspects and include different societal stakeholders and innovation ecosystems. Cross cutting opportunities include:

  • Consumer attitudes, risk perception and the levers which could influence consumer behaviour
  • Life cycle, techno-economic and environmental impact analyses, including water, land and energy consumption aspects
  • Barriers, opportunities, and solutions to scaling up
  • System analysis and integration of processes in the energy system, continuity/intermittence
  • Digitalization as part of the project

The focus is on projects with industry-relevant approach and should aim for a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 or higher, but parts of the project (work package or tasks) may be at a lower TRL.

Module 7: Geothermal Energy Technologies

This module addresses a broad range of geothermal energy-related innovation, development and research projects, for heating and cooling, power generation, underground thermal energy storage (UTES), and the co-production of geothermal minerals. The scope includes:

  • Geothermal energy for heating and cooling
  • Geothermal energy for power generation
  • Underground thermal energy storage (UTES)
  • Geothermal energy with the co-production of minerals

Mandatory Focus – besides focusing on the topics above, projects must address at least one of the cross-cutting and multidisciplinary topics. They can be non-technological thematic aspects relevant for “Geothermal Energy Technologies”; sustainability and safety, knowledge sharing, enhancing public awareness and sector’s strength, and activities related to policies and regulations. Cross cutting opportunities include:

  • Environmental, social and economic sustainability
  • Data, statistics, and knowledge sharing
  • Public awareness, education & strengthening the sector
  • Policy, economy & risk mitigation, regulatory framework

The emphasis is on market-driven projects ready for large-scale implementation around 2030, implying industrial relevance for all projects. The aim is for projects to advance towards Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 or higher, but parts of the project (work package or tasks) may be at a lower TRL.

How To Apply

Submissions for pre-proposals are due November 22, 2023 at 6:00 AM (MST). Applicants shortlisted for the Full Proposal stage will be notified before January 25, 2024. Shortlisted applicants will have until March 27, 2024 at 6:00 AM (MST) to submit a Full Proposal. Funding decisions will be in June of 2024 and projects are expected to start in September 2024 or before December 15, 2024.

All project proposals must be submitted through the CETP Application Portal. Please note that no project proposal will be accepted after the submission deadline.

Click the links below for more details:

CETP Joint Call 2023 Modules

Please note, an informational webinar was held on September 13, 2023. Details of the recorded webinar can be found here.

APPROVAL PROCESS

All proposals will undergo a rigorous two-stage evaluation process:

  • Pre-Proposal Review: The first phase consists of “pre-proposal” submissions. CETP-TRI3 consortium will evaluate these pre-proposals to determine their suitability, evaluate them based on the primary and regional criteria, and rank them by a team of independent international experts. ERA will use its standard approval process to determine the suitability of these pre-proposals for moving on to the next phase.
  • Full Proposal Review: A shortlist of applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal that is evaluated and ranked by a team of independent international experts. The experts will then reach a consensus and write an evaluation report. The final funding decision is made by the relevant national/regional funding bodies based on the ranking and approval of the CETP-TRI3 consortium’s individual funding organizations. ERA will use its standard approval process for final funding decisions.
  • Project Execution: Successful applicants are required to enter into a legal agreement with their respective national/regional funding organizations (e.g., Alberta companies with ERA, Norwegian companies with RCN, etc.). For each approved project, the entire consortium of applicant partners must have a signed agreement detailing the internal organization and management of the consortium, intellectual property arrangements, and settlement of internal disputes.

Projects will be evaluated based on three primary criteria, in addition to national/regional funding organization criteria:

  • Excellence: dealing with the overall fit within the scope of the call, credibility of the technology, scientific merit, ambition and innovation potential, and relevance and clarity of overall objectives.
  • Impact: underscoring the importance of the results of the project, expected outcomes and impacts specified in the CETPartnership Call module, added value of transnational collaboration, and relevance to energy transition.
  • Quality and Efficiency: including a coherent and effective project plan, appropriate budget allocation, risk management procedures, and team capability.

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

CETPartnership aims to empower the clean energy transition and contribute to the European Union’s goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, by pooling national and regional RTDI funding for a broad variety of technologies and system solutions required to make the transition.

The goal of the initiative is to:

  • build innovation ecosystems that support capacity building at all levels
  • develop and demonstrate technology solutions for the transition of energy systems
  • build a transnational joint programming platform

CETP is coordinated by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). It builds on established best practices in:

  • conducting joint calls
  • monitoring progress
  • sharing data, information, and knowledge beyond the projects
  • deducing strategic knowledge
  • maximizing the impact of funded projects and their established European and international relationships
Submit Application
Call Documents

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

November 22, 2023 at 6:00 AM (MST)