One year after their first meeting, the ETIPWind Steering Committee gathered in Amsterdam this week to discuss the future of wind Research & Innovation (R&I).
In parallel with EERA JP Wind’s Innovation Forum, 28 Steering Committee members convened (both in-person and online) with a clear objective: to review a list of 25 R&I priorities for 2025-2027.
These priorities were defined earlier this year by five Working Groups created exclusively to update the ETIPWind’s Strategic R&I Agenda. The Working Groups cover the five main challenges faced by the wind energy sector today, which were identified based on the results of a consultation process organised earlier this year:
- Working Group 1 – Wind energy system integration
- Working Group 2 – Industrialisation, scale-up, and competitiveness
- Working Group 3 – O&M and Digitalisation
- Working Group 4 – Sustainability and Circularity
- Working Group 5 – Skills and Coexistence
The meeting was also an opportunity for the European Commission to share its expectations regarding the ETIPWind’s upcoming work. Enrico Degiorgis (Policy Officer, DG Research & Innovation) affirmed the key role of the ETIPWind’s recommendations in shaping the next Horizon Europe work programs. He also emphasised the importance of coordination with EU Member States to ensure R&I priorities are aligned at the national level.
A vision for wind energy R&I was also discussed during the meeting. Industry and research experts concurred on defining a vision around four key pillars:
- Speed-up: optimisation of integrated designs, digitalisation, transport & logistics, etc.
- Scale-up: manufacturing of large components, supply-chain, standards, etc.
- Expand: locations, grid services, lifetime of assets, etc.
- Enhance: performance, environment, coexistence, etc.
Based on feedback from the Steering Committee, the ETIPWind Working Groups will now refine their list of R&I priorities. The updated Strategic R&I Agenda will be published at the end of November and officially launched during a public event at the beginning of December.