EU Funding for Solutions to Decarbonise Heating and Cooling Market

Still, SHC fits into the wider context of buildings, consumers and district heating networks, as confirmed by Piero de Bonis, SHC Research Policy Officer of Renewable Energy Sources Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation. He explained: “We’re asking for solutions to decarbonize the heating and cooling sector, not for specific technology improvements. Applicants will have to propose technologies that they deem most suitable. SHC certainly fits the scope.”

The first call relevant to solar thermal, LC-SC3-RES-5-2018, will end on 13 February 2018. Proposals for this call are to meet one or more of the following criteria for renewable heating and cooling systems in residential and commercial buildings: Several optimised components, tools and systems to improve component design and monitoring, and integrated control systems for a smart operation of heating and cooling units. Another call which may be relevant is LC-SC3-RES-28-2018-2019-2020. Proposals are to include plans for developing easy-to-implement solutions for overcoming barriers to broader RES deployment (see the table below).

Call identifier	Call topic	Total budget (in millions of euros)	Expected EU contribution per project (in millions of euros)	Expected no. of supported projects	Type of action
LC-SC3-RES-5-2018	Increased performance of technologies for local heating and cooling solutions	10	3 to 10	1 to 3	Innovation
LC-SC3-RES-28-2018-2019-2020	Market uptake support	15	1 to 3	5 to 15	Coordination and support

2018 – and then 2019 to 2020 – will see more solar thermal-related calls being published. Despite not including a specific reference to solar thermal, LC-SC3-RES-1-2019-2020 will accept pre-competitive research proposals aimed at developing technologies which are currently in the early research stage and could lead to more efficient and cost-competitive solutions. LC-SC3-RES-4-2018 will address combinations of RES to meet as much as possible of the electricity, heating and cooling needs at multifamily properties and commercial, public or industrial buildings (excludes process heat).

A call exclusively dedicated to solar thermal is LC-SC3-RES-7-2019. It will provide support for solar thermal solutions meeting industrial process demand for heat (at a minimum process temperature of 150 °C) and/or cooling. Applications can be submitted for both individual sites and industrial areas (coupled to a district heating and/or cooling network).

Solar thermal is also one of the featured technologies in LC-SC3-RES-8-2019. It will concentrate on cost-effective district heating and/or cooling systems that generate at least 50 % of their energy output based on RES and excess heat. Solutions will have to be demonstrated in a real-life environment by being connected to an operational district heating and/or cooling system.

Lastly, LC-SC3-EC-1-2018-2019-2020 will focus on motivating consumers to replace old appliances which show great energy-saving potential with more efficient, clean heating and cooling solutions and listing the choices they have. It will support cooperatives, collective purchasing groups, and other consumer groups.

Call identifier	Call topic	Overall budget (in millions of euros)	Expected EU contribution per project (in millions of euros)	Indicative no. of supported projects	Type of action
LC-SC3-RES-1-2019-2020	Developing the next generation of renewable energy technologies	20	2 to 5	4 to 10	Research and innovation
LC-SC3-RES-4-2018	Renewable energy system integrated at the building scale	27.5	2 to 5	5 to 13	Research and innovation
LC-SC3-RES-7-2019	Solar energy in industrial processes	10	3 to 5	2 to 3	Research and innovation
LC-SC3-RES-8-2019	Combining renewable technologies for a renewable district heating and/or cooling system	15	8 to 15	1 to 2	Innovation
LC-SC3-EC-1-2018-2019-2020	The role of consumers in changing the market through informed decision and collective actions	5	1 to 2	2 to 5	Coordination and support