i&mb Industrie & Management Beratung intern. GmbH

7th Energy Research Programme “Innovations for Energy Turnaround“

Application period: 18.02.2019 – 30.06.2021

The 7th Energy Research Programme “Innovations for Energy Turnaround” of the Federal Government provides the framework for research funding and innovation policy in the energy sector. As a strategic element of energy policy, the programme is oriented towards energy system transformation. The core objectives of energy policy by 2050 are to halve primary energy consumption compared with 2008 and to achieve a share of renewable energies of 60% of gross final energy consumption.

The basic prerequisite for this is the acceleration of technology and innovation transfer in order to lay the foundations for efficient implementation of the energy system transformation across the electricity, heat and transport sectors.

Within the 7th Energy Research Programme, the BMBF is continuously aligning its research priorities with the needs of the energy system transformation. Funding will be provided for research and development of innovative energy technologies in the basic field that can make a significant contribution to the success of the energy system transformation.

Priority areas for action are:

• Continuation of the Kopernikus projects into a second funding phase with greater application relevance,
• Research on the transformation of the heat sector with a focus on heat supply, utilisation and efficiency,
• Research for climate-friendly mobility: new and synthetic fuels, use of hydrogen in the transport sector,
• Large-scale production of hydrogen from renewable energies; transport and safety of hydrogen; industrial processing,
• Systemic and energy-efficient integration of renewable energies into the existing energy system, especially for mobility and transport,
• Materials research in all fields of application of energy system transformation: Energy efficiency and energy generation, networks and storage, CO2 technologies and changing manufacturing processes and techniques,
• Industry- and sector-specific funding projects for structural change in industry: German key industries and core industries, e.g. steel, chemicals, aluminium, are to be made future-proof for energy-intensive processes in particular,
• Research for structural change in the lignite regions,
• Further development of successful projects from previous initiatives, above all on networks, storage facilities, energy-specific materials research and energy-efficient and climate-friendly municipalities/cities/quarters,
• Exploiting the potential of digitisation for energy system transformation,
• Projects for the implementation of sector coupling in the energy system transformation through the targeted use of CO2 on an industrial scale, e.g. for the storage and transport of renewable energies.

Grant recipient and amount of the grant

Universities and non-university research institutions with research and development capacities in Germany as well as commercial enterprises and other legal entities under public or private law are eligible to apply.

A prerequisite for the funding is an expected scientific progress and a high chance of realisation and success in the sense of this announcement. Applicants must be able to demonstrate, through relevant scientific preparatory work.

The assessment basis for grants to commercial enterprises is the eligible project-related costs. As a rule, these can be financed by up to 50 % of the shares. The BMBF has currently commissioned the project management agency Jülich to handle the funding process. The application procedure consists of two stages.