Everybody in Europe should have the possibility to innovate by using the research results available thanks to decades of public investments.

But how do we make this body of scientific knowledge accessible for use and reuse to all European researchers, innovators and citizens?

Right now, the knowledge and data acquired through European funding get lost over time, usually within 3 to 5 years after the end of a project, because there are no long-term storage solutions.

This gap has a negative impact on the innovation potential of Europe.

Research data storage and preservation are key elements in the European research data lifecycle and yet we are a lacking a hub where data can be preserved long-term to advance our innovation and growth prospects. This location should be open, accessible and distributed to allow scientists and businesses to publish and access the data they need to innovate.

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) initiative has an outstanding potential of becoming this platform, by offering a secure and unified access of storing and sharing data and knowledge. The EOSC will enable knowledge to circulate freely towards a culture of shared economic values, narrowing the digital divide across Europe to create new jobs and opportunities for growth.

Questions & talking points:

1. A significant part of the data generated by European public money is never reused. We need a mechanism for long term preservation of data, at no cost for scientists (as opposed to commercial providers). What can we do about this?
2. How do we stimulate knowledge creation from this data and encourage innovation and business generation & job growth? Could EOSC support the creation of open science and innovation and help create job growth?
3. How to enhance the skill pool that allows scientists to benefit from Open Data and the EOSC framework?
4. How can we make sure European regions are part of the EOSC, thus reducing the digital gap?

Recreate’s goal was to support the policy making in Societal Challenge 5 of H2020. The five-year project has developed new ways to address policy challenges, providing evidence in different, digestible manners. The key re-usable results are

• The Green Horizons Scoreboard, which maps and compares indicators in 34 countries on 11 innovation systems such as bio economy, climate adaptation and climate change.
• The Evidence Based Narratives (EBN) that provide a full narrative, using the technological innovation system approach to analyse innovations and support them by evidence in a highly digestible manner.
• The Recreate forward looking analysis, which takes three different societal scenarios and makes projections in how these can affect the R&I developments in SC5 areas until 2050

The results are not only interesting for the European Commission, but also provides insights to the political decision making. In addition, academia and industry see the potential use of these methods within their own environment.

Please find more information on these tools in the RECREATE dissemination video as well as the RECREATE Summary Pocket Book.

At the joint K4I/ RECREATE Dinner Debate on 27 June, these tools will be presented and discussed with various key representatives of the project, of the European Commission as well as of industry.

It is no secret that science, research and talented people are at the core of the solutions badly needed to solve major challenges. However, these drivers of innovation are far from being fully exploited in Europe.

There are many examples of successfully operating innovation actors and eco-systems at the local and regional level. However, the potential gains from connecting innovation actors from across Europe are not fully realised. A closer cooperation between the best would allow for better leverage in exploiting technology opportunities, through creating an enhanced and more efficient EU-wide innovation system.

Together we can have a real impact on EU policy making and help design programmes and policies reflecting the needs of innovation stakeholders and entrepreneurs.

Together with Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission and leading innovation actors from across Europe, we would like to discuss how we can move Europe’s innovation agenda forward and turn the great wealth of knowledge and ideas into solutions addressing major societal challenges. Solving the problems of citizens’ and society does not mean that there cannot be a profitable business case, in the contrary.

Aspiration:

The STORE&GO project as a reality lab exemplifies the integration of large amounts of renewable energy sources. Integrating such large amounts of renewable energy poses technological difficulties, as those sources, like wind and solar, are volatile and generate electricity intermittently. Thus, at times there will be a surplus of energy when there is no demand for it, and vice versa. Storing large amounts of electrical energy from renewable sourceswill enable countries to deal with long lasting periods without sufficient wind and sun available.

In order for the European Union (EU) to meet the assigned target of reducing CO2 emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 and by 80–95 per cent by the year 2050, the majority of fossil and nuclear energy must be replaced with renewable energy. As renewable sources tend to be volatile and generate energy intermittently, long-term storage will be required.

27 partner organizations and companies collaborate in the lighthouse project STORE&GO to integrate the power-to-gas (PtG) technology into the future European energy system. The project is funded by the European Union’s “Horizon 2020 research and Innovation programme” with 18 Million Euros as well as from the Swiss government with six Million Euros.

Benefits of power-to-gas

1. Provides crucial elements for tomorrow’s energy system

• In an energy system with large shares of renewable energy, PtG provides one of the most promising options to get to large-scale and flexible energy storage. The existing European 100 billion m3 underground storage capacity – corresponding to 25 % of the EU’s yearly gas consumption – is a crucial component for safeguarding energy security in a world that mostly depends on renewable energy sources.
• By its conversion and storage capabilities, PtG can add to balancing the electricity grid, and providing the back-up capacity needed to secure supply for the end-users, and stabilize the power market.
• In addition, PtG is an essential means to provide ‘green’ hydrogen and methane feedstock for chemical industries, which today are completely dependent on fossil input.
• PtG enables the integration of ‘green’ energy into applications that are otherwise practically impossible to make green, including long-range road and maritime transport. The many applications make PtG an indispensable component for the coupling of energy sectors.
• The liquefaction of SNG, demonstrated in STORE&GO, provides ‘green’ liquefied natural gas (LNG), a high-density energy carrier which is easy to transport. Decarbonization can thus be carried not only into mobility but also into remote off-grid locations.

2. Provides a cost-efficient energy transition

• The CO2 neutral gas generated from PtG can easily be transported, distributed and stored in the existing gas infrastructure, consisting of the 2.2 million km European gas grid and storage units. It may be economically feasible to ‘convert’ electricity from renewable sources into gas and transport it via the existing gas grid to consumers, instead of building lots of new power lines to transfer energy. Hence costs for extending the electricity grids could be minimized or at least deferred.
• Since the existing gas infrastructure is compatible only with a minor share of hydrogen in the gas mixture, the consortium is convinced that in the long term it will be required to go the additional synthesis step from ‘green’ hydrogen to SNG.
• We can continue to use the existing European 200 million gas-based end devices, which account for 23 % of the EU’s final energy consumption; thereby carrying decarbonization e.g. into the heating sector – which is difficult to decarbonize – and avoiding the costs of exchanging millions of devices.