InterviewCities and municipalities as innovation hubs - EU funding for the path to a climate-neutral future

Interview with Regine Wehner, Head of Unit Energy & Mobility Transition, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum

Cities and municipalities play a central role in the energy transition and climate protection. Their planning and development responsibilities make them key players in innovation. However, they need other actors from industry and research to successfully achieve their goals. The EU supports this kind of multi-dimensional and complex cooperation through Smart Cities projects under Horizon Europe. By doing so, the EU enables cities and municipalities to exchange ideas and replicate successful solutions in international cooperation. This creates new ecosystems that generate innovation and help, for example, to create start-ups.

Read on to find out more about the nature of these projects and how Steinbeis Europa Zentrum offers support in an interview with Regine Wehner.

Who are the funding programmes of the European Commission aimed at?

If we look at the major research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, in principle to any organisation that drives innovation. This could be, for example:

• Universities researching the fundamentals of renewable energy generation
• Companies developing innovative technology for fast charging of electric vehicles
• Cities and municipalities testing a new approach for a mobility concept in peripheral neighborhoods.

There is a special funding programme within Horizon Europe - called Missions. Within the Mission climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, specific projects are funded that contribute to achieving the goal of climate neutrality in cities. These projects bring together many organisations in consortia. A diverse mix of universities, research organisations, companies, public authorities and cities and municipalities from all over Europe.

What requirements do I have to meet as a city?

The most important thing is the commitment of the decision-making level within the city, as the projects run for several years and pilot projects that are tested in the city usually need to be scaled up. It would be a pity if, for example, an innovative mobility concept for poorly connected peripheral districts, successfully tested and implemented in peripheral district #1, were not transferred to peripheral districts #2, #3 and #4 at the end of the project.

Previous experience with Horizon Europe is not necessary; everyone is involved for the first time at some point. However, it would be important to ensure sufficient human resources. There is a corresponding personnel budget for the projects from the EU and, of course, a commitment is expected in return.

Finally, the pilot project proposed by the city must match the call for tenders. For example, if a call for tenders promotes air pollution control concepts, it is not appropriate for cities to propose autonomous shuttles.

Do cities need to have a minimum size?

Cities and municipalities should generally have at least 50,000 inhabitants.

Who are the key players in the project?

It is always an interplay of organisations that take on different roles in the project. For example, in a project to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, we have:

• Cities that provide a building complex with previously poor energy efficiency,
• Companies testing software that intelligently controls energy use in buildings to reduce energy consumption,
• Research organisations evaluating how effectively the software reduces energy demand,
• NGOs that provide training programmes for building occupants, showing them, how new technologies and behaviours can reduce their energy costs,
• Companies such as Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, which is helping companies to develop business models for innovative products in the project.

In Smart Cities projects, the consortium can include up to 45 partner organisations from different countries.

Project partners from metaCCAZE and Mobilities for EU at the Cities Mission Conference in Valencia 2024, Regine Wehner, third from left

Can I currently take part in a project?

Yes, there are currently several calls with submission deadlines in February 2025, so if you want to participate, you need to hurry. Many application consortia are currently being formed for these deadlines. However, calls for proposals are published regularly. At the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, we keep a close eye on future calls and can advise you.

We pave the way to EU funding - Steinbeis DE

Where can I get information on ongoing projects?

The EU publishes information on all Horizon Europe funded projects on the official project database CORDIS (CORDIS | European Commission). The projects themselves usually have their own websites. If you have found an interesting project on CORDIS, it is therefore worth checking these websites for up-to-date information on ongoing projects. We also regularly provide information about Smart Cities projects in which the Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is a partner on our own website.

Solutions for a climate-neutral future – Steinbeis DE

If you visit the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona in November 2024, you can meet partners from around 30 EU-funded smart cities projects in person at a specially designed stand. The stand will be coordinated by our in-house events team as part of the Smart Cities Marketplace. This is also an excellent source of updates on Smart Cities projects. It's worth subscribing to the newsletter!

Interviews with cities and partners of the European project Mobilities for EU