Mon, 18 October, 2021
Sharing innovative technology concepts for new systems, processes, products and services was the order of the day at the recent TWI Innovation Partner Matching and Brokerage Workshop on sustainable, secure and competitive advantage!
This was the third workshop in a series based on the EU’s €95 billion Horizon Europe programme, and the opportunities it presents for enabling new technology development through securing public funding for research and development (R&D) projects.
The workshop on 13 October 2021 focused on renewable energy; energy system, grids and storage; and carbon capture, utilisation and storage, supporting the EU’s call for projects that can underpin the modernisation of energy networks to support energy system integration, and the development of innovative energy (chemical, mechanical, electrical and thermal) storage.
The morning was introduced by Laurence Robinson, Technology Innovation Management Team Manager at TWI, who went on to explain how participating in proposals for programmes such as Horizon Europe enables TWI, its Industrial Members, TWI Innovation Subscribers and wider industry to realise new, disruptive technology ideas and start to move them towards commercial deployment.
Laurence’s talk was followed by ‘technology pitches’ given by representatives of a number of TWI’s Innovation Centres (ICs). The purpose of the pitches was for workshop attendees to find out about the latest concepts the Centres are working on, and the partners and expertise still needed, and whether these matched their own skills set and R&D ambitions. When a match occurs, this provides a foundation for both interested parties to come together for mutual benefit.
The pitches presented at the workshop were:
- CCUS through mineralisation of CO2 to create magnesium carbonate for use in the construction industry – Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen IC (IDHIC)
- Integrated wave and wind energy system, WAVEDRAGON, to be demonstrated at 1.5 MW – Materials IC (MatIC)
- Integrating hydrogen energy storage, renewables and smart network management systems – IDHIC
- Novel, cost-effective tandem perovskite-based photovoltaic(PV) systems with improved stability – MatIC
- Training and reskilling in renewable energy, coordination and support – Renewable Energy IC
- Net-Zero knowledge exchange network for universities and business –TWIIN
Sally Shi, Collaborative Proposals Programme Manager was up next, giving an informative briefing on the upcoming ‘Energy Calls’ for Horizon Europe, which also included a detailed look at how the collaborative proposals process works and what consortiums of technology partners can do to maximise their chances of success with funding bids.
The final part of the Workshop was dedicated to networking, during which attendees were able to network with each other, discuss with presenters any of the technologies they wanted to explore further and talk to Technology Innovation Management team members about collaborative proposals.
Laurence Robinson, Technology Innovation Management Team Manager, TWI said “The aim of these workshops is to raise awareness amongst UK and European companies, and RTOs, of the business, industrial and societal benefits that can be achieved via taking a public funding route to support new technology development.” “And with this third workshop, we honed in on the green agenda, and how TWI can help its Members and network partners to participate in projects that can make a difference in delivering a more sustainable future”.