eunbil · GT0N1604 · 2006-07-14 00:00:00 — A specific activity on knowledge for energy policy making is included which may also provide support to new policy needs that emerge, for example relating to the role of European energy policy in the developments of international climate change actions, and instabilities or disruptions in energy supply and price. Hydrogen and fuel cells Integrated action to provide a strong technological fuel cell and hydrogen industries, for stationary, portable and transport applications. The Hydrogen and Platform helps this activity by proposing an integrated research and deployment strategy. Technologies to increase overall conversion efficiency, cost efficiency and reliability, driving down the cost of electricity production from indigenous renewable energy sources, including wastes AM 162, and the development and the demonstration of technologies suited to different regional conditions. Integrated fuel production systems and conversion technologies: to develop and drive down the unit cost of solid, liquid and gaseous (including hydrogen) fuels produced from renewable energy sources including biomass and wastes AM 163, aiming at the cost-effective production, storage AM 163,165,167 , distribution AM 163 and use of carbon-neutral fuels, in particular biofuels for transport and electricity generation. Renewables for heating and cooling Research, development and demonstration of technologies and devices including storage technologies to increase efficiencies and drive down the costs of and passive heating and cooling from renewable energy sources, ensuring their use in different regional conditions where sufficient potential can be identified. CO2 capture and storage technologies for zero emission power generation Research, development and demonstration of technologies to drastically reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuel use aiming at highly efficient and cost effective power and/or heat generation plants AM 165 with near zero emissions, based on CO2 capture and storage technologies in particular underground storage. Research, development and demonstration of technologies to substantially improve plant efficiency, reliability and cost through development and demonstration of clean coal and other solid fuel conversion technologies producing also secondary energy (including hydrogen) and liquid or gaseous fuels. Activities will be linked as appropriate to CO2 capture and storage technologies or co-utilisation of biomass. Research, develop and demonstrate how to increase the efficiency, safety, reliability and quality of electricity and gas systems and networks notably within the context of a more integrated European energy market e.g. by transforming the current electricity grids into an interactive (/operators) service network, developing energy storage options and removing AM 167 obstacles to the large-scale deployment and effective integration of distributed and renewable energy sources. Energy efficiency and savings Research, development and demonstration of new concepts, optimisation of proved concepts and technologies to improve energy efficiency and to enable further final and primary energy consumption savings, over their life cycle, for (including in lighting), transport, services and industry AM 168. This includes the integration of strategies and technologies for energy efficiency (including co- and polygeneration) AM 168, 170, the use of new and renewable energy technologies and energy demand management measures and devices, AM 168 and the demonstration of minimum climate impact . Knowledge for energy policy making Development of tools, methods and models to assess the main economic and social issues related to energy technologies and to provide quantifiable targets and scenarios for medium- and long-term horizons (including providing scientific support for policy development) AM 169. Environment (including Climate Change) Sustainable management of the environment and its resources through advancing our knowledge on the interactions between the climate, AM 171 biosphere, ecosystems and human activities, and developing new technologies, tools and services, in order to address in an integrated way global environmental issues. Emphasis will be put on prediction of climate, ecological, earth and ocean systems changes; on tools and technologies for monitoring, prevention, mitigation and adaptation AM 171 of environmental pressures and risks including on health, as well as for the sustainability of the natural and man-made environment. Environmental problems go beyond national frontiers and require a coordinated approach at a pan-European and often global level. Earth"s natural resources and the man-made environment are under intense pressures from growing population, urbanisation, construction AM 172, continuous expansion of the agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, AM 172 transport, and energy sectors, as well as climate variability and at local, regional and global scales. Europe needs to engage in a new sustainable relationship with the environment while improving competitiveness and strengthening European industry. EU-wide cooperation is needed to attain critical mass given the scale, scope and high level of complexity of environmental research. It facilitates common planning, the use of connected and inter-operable databases, and the development of coherent and large scale observation and forecasting systems. Research should address the need for data management and information services and problems about data transfer, integration, mapping. Research is needed at EU level for the implementation of international commitments such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) AM 173 and its Kyoto protocol, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, AM 173 the objectives of the World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002, including the EU Water Initiative, and contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Earth Observation initiative. In addition there are significant research needs arising from existing and emerging EU level policies, the implementation of the 6th Environmental Action Plan and associated thematic strategies (e.g. the EU strategy), the action plans, programmes and directives on , the Water Framework and NATURA 2000. The EU needs to strengthen its position in world markets for environmental technologies. Such technologies contribute to sustainable consumption and production AM 174 helping to deliver sustainable growth providing eco-efficient solutions to environmental problems at different scales and protecting our cultural and natural AM 174 heritage. Environmental requirements act as a stimulus for innovation and can provide business opportunities and higher competitiveness while at the same time ensuring a more sustainable future for next generations. AM 174 Platforms on water supply and sanitation and on sustainable chemistry confirm the need for EU level action and their research agendas are taken into consideration in the activities below. Other Platforms (e.g. on Construction and on Forestry) partially deal with environmental technology issues and are taken into consideration as well. Socio-economic aspects particularly strongly influence the development and introduction of environmental technologies to the market and their subsequent application as for example in water resources management. Activities shall consider the socio-economic aspects of policies and technological developments, whenever relevant to the topic. A series of activities are listed below many of which are directly relevant to policy needs. However, additional support may be provided to new policy needs that emerge, for example relating to sustainability impact assessments of EU policies; the follow up of the post-Kyoto action on Climate Change; and new environmental policies such as in Soil Strategy and in policy, standards and regulations. Climate change, pollution and risks Pressures on environment and climate: Functioning of climate and the earth system including the polar regions AM 175; adaptation and mitigation measures; pollution in air, soil and water; changes in atmospheric composition and water cycle; global and regional AM 175 interactions between climate and atmosphere, land surface, ice and the ocean; and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, including the effects of the sea level rise on zones and impacts on particularly sensitive areas. Environment and health: Interaction of environmental stressors with human health including identification of sources, biomonitoring research for environment related health, air quality and links to environment, urban environment, car emissions and impact and emerging risk factors; integrated risk assessment methods for hazardous substances including alternatives to animal testing; quantification and cost-benefit analysis of environmental health risks and indicators for prevention strategies. Natural hazards: Improve forecasting AM 177 and integrated hazards - vulnerability - and risk assessments for disasters related to geological hazards (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, ) and climate (such as storms, droughts, floods, fires, landslides, avalanches and other extreme events) and their impact; AM 177 develop early warning systems and improve prevention, mitigation and management strategies, also within a multi-risk approach. Conservation and sustainable management of natural and man-made resources and biodiversity : ecosystems; water resources management; waste management and prevention; protection and management of biodiversity, including control of invasive alien species, AM 178 soil, seabed, lagoons AM 178 and areas protection, approaches against desertification and land degradation, preservation of landscape; AM 178 sustainable use and management of ; sustainable management and planning of urban environment, including post-industrialized zones; data management and information services; assessment and foresight relating to natural processes. Management of environments: Impacts of human activities on the environment and its resources; pollution and eutrophication in regional seas and areas; deep sea ecosystems; assessment of biodiversity trends, of ecosystem processes and of ocean circulation; seabed geology. Development of strategies, concepts and tools for a sustainable use of the ocean and its resources. Environmental technologies for observation, simulation, prevention, mitigation, adaptation, remediation and restoration of the natural and man-made environment: related to water, climate, air, , urban and rural environment, soil, waste treatment, recycling, clean production processes and sustainable products, AM 179 chemicals safety. Protection, conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, including human habitat: improved damage assessment on cultural heritage, development of innovative conservation strategies, integration of cultural heritage in the urban setting. Technology assessment, verification and testing: Methods and tools for environmental risk and lifecycle assessment of processes, technologies and products, including alternative testing strategies and in particular non-animal methods for industrial chemicals; AM 181 support for sustainable chemistry, forest-based sector technology, water supply and sanitation Platforms ; scientific and technological aspects of a future European environmental technologies verification and testing programme, complementing third party assessment instruments. Earth observation and assessment tools Earth and ocean observation systems and monitoring methods for the environment and sustainable development: Contribute to the development and integration of observation systems for environmental and sustainability issues in the framework of GEOSS (to which GMES is complementary); interoperability between systems and optimisation of information for understanding, modelling and predicating environmental phenomena, for assessing, exploring and managing natural resources. Forecasting methods and assessment tools for sustainable development taking into account differing scales of observation AM 183: modelling links between economy/environment/society including market based instruments, externalities, thresholds and developing the knowledge base and methodologies for sustainability impact assessment on key issues such as land use and issues; urban development, social and economic tensions related to climate change. Transport (including Aeronautics) Based on technological and operational advances and on transport policy, develop integrated, safer, "greener" and "smarter" pan-European transport systems for the benefit of all AM 184 citizens, society and climate policy, respecting the environment and natural resources; and securing and further developing the competitiveness attained by industries in the global market. Transport is one of Europe"s strengths - the air transport sector contributes to of the EU GDP (with 3.1 million jobs) and the surface transport field generates of the EU GDP (employing some 16 million persons). However, transport is responsible for of all the EU emissions of CO2, hence the absolute need for a "greening" of the system to ensure more sustainable transport patterns and compatibility with growth rates, as developed in the on "European Transport Policy for 2010: time to decide". The enlargement (increasing land surface by and population by ) and economic development of the EU present new challenges for transporting people and goods efficiently, cost-effectively and in a sustainable . Transport also has direct relevance on other major policies such as trade, competition, employment, environment, AM 185 cohesion, energy, security and the internal market. Investment in RTD in EU transport industries is a prerequisite to ensure technological competitive advantage in global markets. Activities at European level will also stimulate the restructuring of the industry, including the integration of the supply chain and in particular SMEs. The research agendas developed by Platforms support the need to take a new "transport systems" perspective that considers the interactions of vehicles or 186, transport networks or infrastructures AM 186 and the use of transport services, which can only be developed at European level. RTD costs in all these fields are rising substantially, and collaborative activity at EU-level is essential to enable a "critical mass" of diverse RTD providers to address the scale and multi-disciplinary challenges in a cost-effective way, as well as meeting the political, technological and socio-economic challenges on issues such as the "clean and safe vehicle" of the future, interoperability and intermodality with particular reference to waterborne and AM 186 rail transport, affordability, safety, capacity, security and environmental impacts in an enlarged Union. Also, developing technologies in support of the system and its applications will be essential in implementing European policies. As well as the strong industry relevance of the themes and activities set out below, the needs of policy makers will be addressed in an integrated way covering economic, social and environmental aspects of transport policy. In addition, support will be provided to respond to existing as well as new policy needs, for example relating to developments in policy or implementation of Single Sky. Aeronautics and air transport The greening of air transport: reduction of emissions, including green house gases and noise disturbance, incorporating work on engines and alternative fuels, structures and new aircraft designs including rotorcraft, airport operations and traffic management. Increasing time efficiency: improvement of the efficiency of operating schedules focusing on innovative air traffic management systems in line with the effective implementation of Single Sky policy which integrate air, ground and space components, including traffic flow and more aircraft autonomy. Ensuring customer satisfaction and safety: improvement of passenger comfort, innovative in-flight services and more efficient passenger handling; improvement of all safety aspects of air transport; wider choice of aircraft ranging from wide body to smaller size vehicles suitable for different applications (including regional applications). Improving cost efficiency: reduction of costs associated with product development, manufacturing and operating costs focusing on innovative and AM 189 zero maintenance, repair and overhaul AM 189, aircraft, increased use of automation and simulation. Protection of aircraft and passengers: enhancement of protection measures for the traveller, crew, aircraft and air transport system such as improved data and identification methods, protecting the aircraft against attack, improved security design of aircraft. Pioneering the air transport of the future: addressing the longer term challenges of with more radical, environmentally efficient, accessible AM 190 and innovative combinations of technologies which would lead to significant steps forward in air transport. Sustainable AM 193 Surface transport (rail, road and waterborne) The greening of surface transport: reduction of environmental and noise pollution, including green house gases; reducing the impact of transport on climate change by reducing emissions through technological and socio-economic means as well as user training; development of clean and efficient engines and power-trains, including hybrid technology and the use of alternative fuels for transport applications such as hydrogen and fuel cells, taking account cost-efficiency and energy-efficiency considerations AM 193; end of life strategies for vehicles and . Encouraging and increasing modal shift and decongesting transport corridors: development of sustainable innovative, intermodal and interoperable regional and national transport and logistics AM 195 networks, infrastructures and systems in Europe; cost internalisation; information exchange between vehicle/and transport infrastructure; optimisation of infrastructure capacity; modal shift strategies to encourage energy efficient means of transport. Ensuring sustainable urban mobility for all citizens including the disadvantaged AM 196: innovative organisation schemes, including clean and safe vehicles and non-polluting means of transport with lower levels of pollution AM 196, new high quality public transportation modes and rationalisation of private transport, communication infrastructure, integrated town planning and transport including their relationship with growth and employment. Improving safety and security: as inherent to the transport system, in transport operations for drivers, passengers, crew, cyclists and pedestrians, as well as for freight, in the design and operation of vehicles, , infrastructures AM 197, and within the total transport system. Strengthening competitiveness: improvement of design processes; development of advanced power-train and vehicle and technologies; innovative and cost-effective production systems and infrastructure construction and maintenance AM 198; integrative architectures. Support to global satellite navigation system (and EGNOS AM 199): precise navigation and timing services for use in a range of sectors; efficient use of satellite navigation and support to the definition of second generation technologies and applications. Socio-Economic Sciences and the Humanities Generating an in-depth, shared understanding of complex and interrelated socio-economic challenges Europe is confronted with, such as growth, employment and competitiveness, social cohesion, social, cultural and educational challenges in an enlarged EU and sustainability, demographic change, AM 200 migration and integration, quality of life and global interdependence, in particular with the view of providing an improved knowledge base for policies in the fields concerned. Europe has a strong and high quality research base in socio-economic and socio-cultural AM 201 sciences and the humanities fields. The diversity of approaches within the EU in the economic, social, political and cultural domains provides a highly fertile ground for research in these fields at EU-level. There is a high European added value in collaborative research addressing European socio-economic and socio-cultural issues in the areas mentioned. First, the issues and challenges concerned are of high priority at level and are addressed by Community policies. Second, comparative research across EU or other countries offers a particularly effective tool as well as important learning opportunities across countries and regions. Third, EU-level research has particular advantages in being able to develop Europe-wide data collection and to employ the multiple perspectives needed to understand complex issues. Finally, the development of a genuinely European socio-economic knowledge base on these key challenges will make an essential contribution to promoting their shared understanding across Union and, most significantly, on the part of citizens. The activities to be supported are listed below and are expected to contribute significantly to improve the formulation, implementation, impacts and assessments of policy and the definition of regulatory measures in a wide range of areas such as economic, social, cultural, AM 202 education and training, gender equality, AM 202 enterprise, international trade, consumer, external relations, scientific and technological, AM 202 official statistics policies and the creation of the area of freedom, security and . In addition, opportunities will be provided to address emerging socio-economic challenges as well as to undertake research on new or unforeseen policy needs. Use may also be made of social platforms to discuss future research agendas. Growth, employment and competitiveness in a knowledge society: developing and integrating research on the issues affecting growth, socio-economic stability, employment and competitiveness, covering topics such as innovation, education including life-long learning and the role of scientific and other knowledge and intangible goods AM 203 on a global scale, youth and youth policy, adaptation of labour market policies, and national institutional contexts. Combining economic, social and environmental objectives in a European perspective: by addressing the two key and highly interrelated issues of continuing evolution of European socio-economic models and economic and social and regional AM 204 cohesion in an enlarged EU, taking into account sustainability and the protection of the environment, sustainable urban planning, the interaction between environment, energy and society, the role of cities and metropolitan regions, and the socio-economic impact of European policies and legislation. Major trends in society and their implications: such as demographic change including ageing and its effects on pension systems, migration and integration, analysing the implications of the demographic change for urban development; lifestyles, work, families, reconciling professional and family life, AM 205 gender issues, disabilities issues, AM 205 health and quality of life; economic consumer protection; inequalities; AM 205 criminality; the role of business in society and population diversity, ethnicity, religious pluralism, AM 205 cultural interactions multicultural issues and issues related to protection of fundamental rights and the fight against discrimination of any kind. Europe in the world: understanding changing interactions, cross cultural relations and interdependencies between world regions, including developing regions AM 206 and their implications; and addressing emerging threats and risks without undermining human rights, freedom and well-being, and fostering peace.