The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has made the need for energy transition even more urgent, adding the need for energy security to the fight against the climate crisis. The situation has led the EU to have the “REPowerEU” plan, and in light of current events, it has become even more important to ensure the alignment of R&I activities in the field of energy transition so that all countries proceed in alignment, creating synergies, sharing knowledge and results, and striving to pursue the greatest possible impact, acting along the 10 Actions of the SET Plan.

Alignment of R&I activities at the European level is the main objective of the work outlined here.
RSE collaborates on this alignment by participating in several strategic initiatives within the SET Plan framework. This report sets out the work done within the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETPartnership) and the National Stakeholder Coordination Group (NSCG).

The CETPartnership is a program linked to Horizon 2020 that funds projects for the development and demonstration of energy transition enabling technologies, concentrating resources from different European Funding Partners towards common goals. RSE there coordinates the Transition Initiative related to the integrated energy system and has contributed to the drafting of two Call Modules on flexibility management: one focused on tool development and one on technology demonstration.

The NSCG is a space for discussion on national research priorities, with a focus on leveraging local elements and on the relationship with regulators, society, and the innovation promotion macro-sector. Together with its interlocutors, RSE has identified the need for flexibility at the local level and the role of energy communities as topics for in-depth discussion.

Active participation in the most important European initiatives, in parallel with similar initiatives at the international level, gives RSE access to European forums for the elaboration of Roadmaps and Implementation Plans and strengthens its position as a study and policy-making hub.