The activity consists in monitoring and participating in working tables set up within the framework of various regional, national, European and international initiatives on Storage Systems (SS), such as:

• European funding programs such as Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, M-era.Net, Era-Net Smart Energy System;
• Other forms of financing/activation of R&D investment projects, such as the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) and the Smart Specialization Platforms established under the cohesion policy, including Advanced Materials for Batteries (AMBP) for the definition of interregional projects for the development of a European battery supply chain;
• ETIP-SNET, a European technological platform that brings together the interests of industry, associations and research bodies on energy systems; in particular, WG2 “Storage technologies and sector interfaces” concerns Storage Systems (SS) and their interaction with the electrical system;
• ETIP BatteRIes Europe, a specific European technology platform on electrochemical SS;
• Batteries European Partnership, the new European partnership within the framework of Horizon Europe that brings together stakeholders across the entire battery value chain;
• EERA, the European alliance of research organizations on energy technologies, including the Joint Programme “Energy Storage” which specifically concerns SS;
• Mission Innovation, a global initiative aimed at doubling the funds dedicated to research and development on the topic of clean energy by 2021; in particular, Challenge 6 “Clean Energy Materials” concerns materials for energy, including materials for storage;
• European Battery Alliance, an initiative promoted by the European Commission (EC) to develop

the entire battery supply chain in Europe;

• Italian Battery Alliance, a national initiative similar to the European Battery Alliance to support Italian operators, currently being activated;
• EMIRI, an association of international industrial groups and research organizations working on energy materials, including storage materials;
• Battery 2030+, a coordination effort between research bodies and industry to define the long-term strategic R&D agenda, starting from emerging technologies with a low Technology Readiness Level (TRL), on batteries;
• Cluster Tecnologico Nazionale Energia (CTNE), whose mission is to define innovation programs at a national level in the energy sector. The contribution to innovation given by grids and flexibility systems such as storage systems is significant;
• Lombardy Energy Cleantech Cluster (LE2C), a Lombardy cluster on energy and the environment. The Smart Energy System area proposes storage as one of the topics of collaboration between industry and research.

The above mentioned initiatives and programs operate in several areas of research, innovation and competitive development of SS: from technological and materials development with ETIP BatteRIes Europe, Battery

2030+, EERA JPES; to the integration with the electricity grid or energy grids with ETIP-SNET; to the implementation of industrial research projects with IPCEI and AMBP; to the formation of networks between research and industry such as national and territorial clusters; to international initiatives to align research and innovation agendas at a global level, such as Mission Innovation.

RSE, ENEA and CNR, in close collaboration (as demonstrated by the fact that the three bodies are co-authors of this report), participated in the meetings (online during the pandemic), discussions and work of all the initiatives mentioned above, to help industry and small and medium-sized Italian enterprises to implement technological innovation actions, as well as to direct the financing plans of European research and development policies.

The presence of the three entities as a technical-advisory body of the Ministry of Economic Development (MiSE) and Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) and as aggregators of national stakeholders at the various working tables is intended to generate virtuous mechanisms of competitive research and to create a strength of Italian skills that will have more weight in Europe.