EUREC published a position paper on a European Innovation Council (EIC) on 20 January 2016.
The document was prepared from the perspective of researchers in the energy field and the suggestion of course is intended to cover all fields of applied research.
The proposal is to be seen in the context of the Horizon 2020 mid-term review, which is an opportunity to find funding for new initiatives. It comes as ‘Mission Innovation’ is launched at the COP21 climate talks, which challenges the governments of the world to double their funding towards energy R&D in five years. Part of this increase should be delivered in the form of grants from a ‘European Innovation Council’.