Accelerating the green transition and energy access in Africa
TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02-16
HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions
05 September 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
Expected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Technologically reliable and economically viable renewable energy solutions by 2030.
- Improve climate adaptation and/or climate mitigation potential of the solutions compared to other technologies/solutions.
- Strengthening of the joint EU-AU Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Collaborative Partnership efforts, with emphasis on improving the visibility of EU Science Diplomacy actions in Africa.
- Proven positive environmental, health, climate, social and economic impacts of the renewable energy solutions.
- Acceleration of the achievements of the African countries’ targets of the Paris Agreement.
Scope:
The proposal should demonstrate innovative sustainable renewable energy solutions that improve climate adaptation and/or mitigation potential compared to other technologies/solutions in the African social, economic and environmental contexts. The proposal may address development of renewable energy sources, including solutions for off-grid communities, and their integration into the existing energy system. Proposals should consider the generation of renewable energy, and where relevant the transmission, and the use of storage/battery systems.
The action should cover either urbanised or rural contexts in Africa. It should contribute to reducing the stress on the water-energy-food nexus, with the aim of providing sustainable renewable energy access and creating other socio-economic benefits such as improved health, economic wealth and jobs.
Actions should design, construct, commission and operate the demonstration installation. Actions should also develop and implement a tailored value chain approach, identifying the most suitable manufacturing value chains, on the basis of the local context, local material supply chain(s) and local workforce, with the objective of ensuring sustainable local economic development. African SMEs are expected to play an important role in the overall value chain and to contribute in the identifying the needs. Actions should also include the identification of technical, vocational and educational needs of the workforce and propose relevant training and qualification activities. Actions should finally define a market and business strategy that could take into consideration funding from financial instruments and aid programmes to ensure impact through a quick and viable commercial take-up of the technological solution demonstrated.
Social innovation should be considered. The business plan should include appropriate consideration of available financial support instruments (local, regional and/or international) to enhance the speedy market deployment of the solution.
Proposals should include a life cycle analysis showing the impact of the proposed solutions when compared to other technologies/solutions on the environment, on climate change targets and on the social and the economic dimensions, taking a cradle to grave viewpoint. The life cycle analysis should take a cradle to grave approach. Proposals should adopt a circular economy approach.
As the demonstration installation will be located in Africa, relevant African partners have to participate in the implementation of the project. A balanced involvement in the activities of the projects of European and African partners will be considered an asset in the evaluation.
Actions should also participate in and contribute to the African Union[1] – European Union collaborative research action on Climate Change and Sustainable Energy, in particular through cooperation/collaboration with the project LEAP-RE, “, www.leap-re.eu.
Specific Topic Conditions:
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 7 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
[1]“African
Topic Eligibility And Document
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