Collective projects

Are you a researcher that wants to address a research problem so ambitious, that can not be dealt with you and your team alone? The Synergy Grants could be for you!

Who can apply?

A group of two to maximum four Principal Investigators (PIs) working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems.  One will be designated as the corresponding PI (cPI).

No specific eligibility criteria regarding the academic training are foreseen for ERC Synergy Grants.

The road mobility environment – the area which covers both road transport users and those affected by them – is evolving. Vehicle types are beginning to change as a result of increasing levels of automation. New vehicle types and new types of road user will operate with conventional vehicles and road users as part of an evolving mixed traffic environment.

Although it is a means of transport that can reduce transport CO2 and air polluting emissions and significantly contribute to reducing congestion on European roads waterborne transport around European coasts and on its inland waterways remains under-utilised and is not fully integrated in the multimodal European Transport system. Both technical and administrative requirements hinder the take up of Intra-European waterborne transport.

Urban, metropolitan and peri-urban areas are experiencing a huge increase in demand for new logistics solutions that deal with the requirements of the 'on demand economy' and incorporate opportunities for shared, connected and low-emission logistics operations. Research is needed on how to prioritize and combine a number of competing interests from the private side and public (policy) side.

Scope

Proposals should address all of the following aspects:

The COP21 Paris Agreement recognises the role of cities and calls on them to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The EU is committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal 11 ("Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable"). Many forward-looking cities have set themselves climate goals whose achievement rests on wide scale roll out of highly integrated and highly efficient energy systems.

The Energy Efficiency Directive, in its art.8, requires Member States to develop programmes encouraging SMEs to undergo energy audits and to implement the recommended energy-saving measures. SMEs represent enormous energy saving potential. However, the lack of expertise, time and capital, including energy audit supporting scheme, often prevents SMEs from implementing energy conversation measures or from getting access to the energy services market.

Many project promoters – public authorities, individuals or businesses – lack the skills and capacity to set up, implement and finance ambitious low-energy and clean energy building projects. In addition, many project developers still face obstacles in raising the necessary up-front costs for their projects – particularly as the small-size of investments and the lack of turnkey solutions increase implementation cost – and lack access to attractive and adequate financing products from the market.

The delivery of the Energy Union targets requires the full engagement of the public sector at all governance levels.

In the Energy Union Strategy, Energy Efficiency was recognised as a resource in its own right which should be enabled to compete on equal terms with generation capacity and to have primary consideration across all policies.

European households continue to spend an increasing share of income on energy, leading to higher rates of energy poverty and negatively affecting living conditions and health. Recent estimates suggest that more than 50 million Europeans are affected by energy poverty. Although roots of this phenomenon lie mainly in low incomes and poor thermal efficiency of buildings, energy efficiency measures at the household level and increased use of renewable energy are key tools in addressing energy poverty and can bring energy savings, leading to lower fuel costs and improved living conditions.