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As the science and knowledge service of the European Commission, the mission of the Joint Research Centre is to support EU policies with independent evidence throughout the whole policy cycle.

The current vacancy is in the ‘Knowledge for the Energy Union’ Unit of Directorate C – Energy, Transport & Climate. Its mission is to support the delivery of the European Green Deal and the transition to a climate-neutral economy with scientific evidence, through the mapping and analysis of relevant knowledge and data, the generation of new evidence, the anticipation of evolving trends and effective communication.

As Project Officer for innovation in clean energy technologies with focus on ocean energy you will be carrying out research to support the Commission Research & Innovation and Energy policy making process with scientific analysis and data.

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Ocean Energy Europe is the trade association for ocean energy in Europe. Our goal is to unite the key industry players behind a common strategy to commercialise the ocean energy sector and generate clean, secure renewable energy from Europe’s seas.

The Project Communications Coordinator will lead the communications and project management tasks on a number of EU-funded projects in which Ocean Energy Europe is a partner. The role will entail a significant amount of copywriting and editing, so a very high standard of written English is required.

This position reports to the Communications & Events Director. You will be part of a dynamic team who has put ocean energy, a nascent sector, on the European map.

OEE’s ‘Target 2025’ event on 22 June was extremely successful. It brought important political attention to the ocean energy sector and in particular to the Offshore Strategy’s target of 100MW of wave and tidal by 2025. European Commission Director for Green Transition and Energy System Integration Catharina Sikow-Magny hailed OEE’s study on the ocean energy project pipeline as ‘precise and useful’, and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to the sector. She identified the coming decade as ‘crucial for ocean energy developers’ and emphasised that ‘swift and continuous action is absolutely necessary’.

The Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson subsequently cited OEE’s analysis in correspondence with the European Parliament, and committed to intensify its coordination with national and regional authorities, with a focus on funding and re-risking of demonstration projects’

There are more than enough ocean energy projects in the works to meet the European Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy’s target of 100 MW by 2025, according to Ocean Energy Europe (OEE). 17 major projects are already in progress, representing over 160 MW of clean energy and €1.2bn of investment. But the clock is ticking:  to get these projects over the finish line, the European Commission and Member States must deliver now on the Strategy’s key commitment of coordination on financial support.
 
Today, the Commission was presented with the industry knowledge it needs to kick off its collaboration with national & regional authorities: a detailed pipeline of the 17 wave and tidal projects that could hit EU waters by the end of 2025. There is no more time to lose in getting started – for projects to deploy by 2025, financial support needs to be in place within the next two years. This confidential study details the financial, technical and regulatory aspects of these projects, and makes recommendations for action at the EU level.

We call for an EU-wide renewable risk mitigation schemes to de-risk private sector investment in capital-intensive renewable energy solutions in the Renewable Energy Directive.

Member States are obliged to reduce the capital cost of renewable energy technologies under Article 3.5(1) of the Renewable Energy Directive. De-risking capital intensive renewable heating, cooling and electricity projects is the most optimal solution. At present, capital cost risks are a barrier to significant investment in our technologies across the EU.

Read the full letter

With the Fit for 55 package coming in July– and with European Union Member States’ Recovery and Resilience Plans currently being reviewed — the next few weeks are crucial to ensuring the European Green Deal delivers on its ambitious promises and Europe meets its Paris Agreement commitments. Our economic recovery’s success, our 2030 climate objectives and the goal of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050 are all on the line.

With so much at stake in such a compressed time frame, the 14 undersigned organisations urge you in the coming weeks and months to place climate- and energy-related innovation at the centre of the EU’s Fit for 55 legislative proposals. Without a significant focus on scaling and rapidly deploying innovation, we will miss our long-term climate targets and our economic recovery will falter.

In short, Fit for 55 must be Fit for Climate Innovation.

Read the full letter

The Commission’s assessment of the 27 National Energy & Climate Plans is stark – Member States are currently not harnessing R&I to deliver on their climate and energy objectives.

To reach climate neutrality by 2050, and to strengthen Europe’s global leadership in renewables, new innovations must be brought to market this decade.

Technologies such as geothermal, solar heating and cooling, next generation PV, next generation heat pump technologies, floating wind, concentrated solar power, ocean energy and bioenergy can then:

• diversify the post-2030 energy mix
• facilitate the decarbonisation of energy supply, including power generation, heating and cooling supply and the transport sector
• balance a grid with a very high penetration of variable generation
• create high-value jobs and contribute to Europe’s technological and industrial leadership in the green economy

Download the Position Paper

Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) has appointed Simon De Pietro (DP Energy, Ireland) and Patrik Möller (Corpower Ocean, Sweden) as its new Co-Presidents. This pairing brings together both technology and project development perspectives, and a wealth of experience in ocean energy.

The appointments come at a crucial time for the ocean energy sector, as the push to scale up and industrialise intensifies, and the shift towards 100% renewable energy sources picks up pace. Together with the OEE Board of Directors, the Co-Presidents will steer the sector’s course over the coming years, as ocean energy positions itself as a key part of decarbonising the world’s energy supply.

The board also welcomes seven new Directors, elected this morning by the OEE membership. This election ensures that the association’s board continues to represent a diverse cross-section of the industry across Europe, and maintains its high-level orientation.

The newly elected Directors are:

• Matthew Finn, Commercial Director, European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC)
• Marlène Kiersnowski, Project Manager, SEENEOH Tidal Test Site
• Tony Lewis, Chief Technology Officer, Ocean Energy
• Patrik Möller, CEO, Corpower Ocean
• Pablo Ruiz Minguela, Head of Wave Energy, Tecnalia
• Britta Schaffmeister, CEO, Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC)
• Oliver Wragg, Commercial Director, Orbital Marine Power

Euractiv op-ed

A new sub-target in the revised Renewable Energy Directive for the deployment of innovative technologies is all it would take for Europe to reclaim its competitive edge in renewables.

Europe is dragging its heels when it comes to innovation in next-generation renewables, threatening the decarbonisation process and the 2050 climate neutrality objective.

Fortunately, this year’s revision of the Renewables Energy Directive is an opportunity to structurally fix the problem – and to permanently position Europe on the frontier of renewable energy innovation.

The European Commission has been proactive in creating mechanisms that push the development of innovative energy sources, including deep geothermal, concentrated solar, tidal and wave energy – but these technologies are hitting a wall when it comes to scaling-up.

This wall – or rather ‘valley of death’ – exists because of an absence of market-pull efforts by Member States. The 27 National Energy & Climate Plans (NECPs) are completely focused on meeting 2030 targets – thus neglecting the technologies that are needed post-2030.

A new opportunity for wave energy developers to advance their technology is on its way, thanks to the EuropeWave project. The project is calling on wave developers to give input into its Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP), a tender which will open in June 2021.

Wave energy developers can find out more about the planned process and are invited to register their interest in the future tender via a Prior Information Notice (PIN). On 26 April, a consultation webinar will be held to allow direct feedback and questions from participants. Advance queries can be submitted up to a week ahead of the webinar.

This innovative procurement process will award R&D service contracts to developers as part of a three-stage process. A competitive call for tender will be open to wave energy developers, initially to participate in the first stage of ‘concept development.’ After each stage is completed, the best of the competing solutions will be selected to progress to the following phase.