New technologies and solutions for reducing the environmental and climate footprint of research infrastructures

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:

• reduction of environmental (including climate-related) impacts;
• optimisation of resource and energy consumption integrated through the full life cycle of research infrastructures;
• increased long-term sustainability of the European research infrastructures ecosystem.

Scope:

The aim of this topic is to deliver innovative technologies and solutions which generate a step change in reducing the environmental and climate footprint of research infrastructures through the full life cycle of research infrastructures. Proposals should identify common methodologies, among the concerned research infrastructures, to assess environmental impact and strategies to reduce it, as well as efficiency gains in the broader ecosystem.

The proposed action is expected to deliver on several of the following points, as relevant:

• new technologies and solutions for research infrastructures enabling transformative resource efficiency (e.g. reduced energy consumption) and reduction of environmental (including climate-related) impacts, including, when relevant, more sustainable and efficient ways of collecting, processing and providing access to data;
• validation and prototyping;
• training of research infrastructures staff for the operation and use of the new solutions;
• action plans to deploy new developments at wider scale and ensure their sustainability;
• measures to ensure an environmentally effective integration of the solutions in the local contexts;
• societal engagement to harvest and incorporate solutions from other relevant ecosystems and or to foster acceptance of the solutions in the local and regional communities.

Consortia should be built on a leading core of at least two different world-class research infrastructures, each of them being an ESFRI infrastructure, a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) or another research infrastructure that is an intergovernmental organisation of European interest, and can include a wider set of research infrastructures, and other technological partners.

Proposals should explain any synergies and complementarities with any related previous or current EU grants, including grants funded under other parts of Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020. Where relevant, proposals should ensure complementarity with actions funded under the 2023 call topic HORIZON-INFRA-2023-TECH-01-01 and clearly justify that different technologies and solutions are targeted.

Proposals could consider the inclusion of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) Support Services Directorate in their research infrastructure portfolio. The JRC offers its experience in assessing, setting the strategy, maintaining, operating and providing access to external researchers to its research infrastructures in various fields of science. One of the main pillars of JRC’s strategy is ensuring the sustainability of its research infrastructures, with measures to reduce energy consumption, improve energy efficiency, and promote the use of renewable energy sources. In this regard, the JRC will consider collaborating with any successful proposal.