Following a series of introductory webinars, the SUPEERA Project held an event in Padova, Italy, on May 10 to discuss research-industry cooperation practices and opportunities to accelerate innovation in two specific pathways: Energy Storage and Fuel Cells and Hydrogen technologies.

The full-day workshop, which took place in hybrid mode, was co-organised with EERA Joint Programmes ES and FCH and it allowed a fruitful knowledge exchange between the panelists and the participants. The main objective of the workshop was to facilitate knowledge exchange and promote a dialogue between the energy research community and industrial stakeholder.

The workshop was joined by 50 participants in presence and about 70 online, gathering professionals, experts and researchers across the EERA community, along with key representatives from energy industry in Italy. The workshop was divided into three main sections at the end of which a panel discussion offered the opportunity to boost lively discussions, animate insightful debates and encourage knowledge exchange activities.

Key take-aways from the research community were the establishment of dedicated frameworks to identify industrial needs and provide research solutions to such needs for instance, through European Partnerships or EERA JP advisory boards with the presence of both industrial players and research organisations.

The speakers representing the private sector showcased research activities to support their businesses both in terms of new solutions with the potential to reach competitiveness targets and require acceleration in up-scaling to enter into the market as well as in terms of improvement of existing technologies through design and modelling. The speakers stated also the importance to establish proper ecosystems where all main stakeholders across the value chain can work together, from technology providers through researchers to end-users. A final key take-away from industry was the need to leverage internal know-how through dedicated collaboration network platforms with external R&I players, for instance, through Joint Research Centres.