Together with key stakeholders, NaturaConnect will co-develop knowledge, tools and capacity building programmes to support Member States in implementing an ecologically representative, resilient and well-connected trans-European nature network (TEN-N) that builds on the existing network of protected areas and Green and Blue Infrastructure. Through research, engagement and dissemination activities at the European scale and in a set of six case studies, we will elicit stakeholders’ visions and preferences about conservation objectives, tap into best practices in protected areas management and funding mechanisms, mobilize data and test the TEN-N spatial prioritization analyses and tools produced by NaturaConnect. This addresses two major obstacles identified by the EU Nature Legislation Fitness Check: lack of stakeholder awareness and cooperation, and insufficient knowledge and access to existing funding mechanisms. NaturaConnect will further address a third major obstacle, limited availability of knowledge on biodiversity distribution, drivers of change and conservation solutions. To address this, NaturaConnect brings together a consortium of the top European scientists, policy experts and NGOs to produce and mobilize relevant data and knowledge. This includes refining and applying state-of-the-art models on biodiversity, ecosystem services and environmental change across Europe and under current and future climate and land-use. Equipped with improved data, knowledge, models and spatial planning methods we will identify gaps in protected area coverage, connectivity and resilience under climate and land-use change. We will further develop scenarios for expanding protected areas, establish ecological corridors and other areas of connectivity to address these gaps, thereby offering a blue-print for realizing TEN-N. NaturaConnect will further provide knowledge and decision support for policy, financing and implementation of TEN-N at all relevant scales.

The overall objective of Mopo is to develop a validated, user-friendly, feature-rich, innovative and well-performing energy system modelling toolset to serve public authorities, network operators, industry and academia to plan sustainable and resilient energy systems in a cost-effective manner. Mopo will include 1) component tools to produce all necessary energy system data; 2) system tool to manage data, scenarios and modelling workflows, to visualise data and to maintain datasets in multi-user environment without losing the track of changes; 3) planning tool to optimise all energy sectors in detail, including sector specific physics and highly flexible representation of temporal, spatial and technological aspects – user can choose how to model depending on the specific needs. The project is based on existing state-of-the-art tools including Spine Toolbox and SpineOpt. The advanced capabilities will be demonstrated through an industrial case (with detailed sector-specific physics) and Pan-European case (resilient pathways). The project will also produce an open access Pan-European dataset at hourly temporal resolution and high spatial resolution (NUTS2 capable). It can be fed into SpineOpt or used by other modelling groups. Mopo tools can recreate data at resolution required by the end-user – also for future climates. End-user requirements, feedback and tool validations will be important part of Mopo – the consortium includes representatives from all end-user categories. Partners will also have skills in user-interfaces, computational efficiency, data processing, code testing, community building and all aspects related to energy systems (technologies, sectors, resources). Mopo project aims to benefit 60% of network operators and public authorities within 2 years of the project end. The tools will be modular, which allows different organisations to adopt the parts that benefit their existing modelling systems.

The aim of ECEMF is to provide the knowledge to inform the development of future energy and climate policies at national and European levels. In support of this aim, ECEMF proposes a range of activities to achieve five objectives and meet the four challenges set out in the call text. ECEMF’s programme of events and novel IT-based communications channel will enable researchers to identify and co-develop the most pressing policy-relevant research questions with a range of stakeholders to meet ambitious European energy and climate policy goals, in particular the European Green Deal and the transformation to a climate neutral society. Answers will be provided by the first inclusive and open full-scale model comparison exercise on achieving climate neutrality in Europe, including from the outset over 20 models and 15 top research groups, to produce a coherent and relevant evidence-base for energy and climate policy impact assessment. ECEMF’s evidence-base will support the development of policy-relevant insights which will be communicated to and discussed with the key decision makers via a range of novel methods, including interactive embeddable visualisation blocks, policy briefs, workshops and high-profile events. This loop of knowledge co-production stands on two pillars. First, ECEMF will advance the state-of-the-art of energy and climate modelling by enabling sharing of: input data using open standards, methods for model comparison building on the vast experience of the consortium, scientific software tools such as the IIASA scenario explorer and hands-on training for researchers. Second, ECEMF will be established as a long-term, open and welcoming European focal-point for researchers and policy makers with unparalleled international connections to the EMF, JMIP, IAMC and IPCC. Through extensive links to ongoing H2020 projects, research and policy communities & networks ECEMF will reduce fragmentation of the European energy and climate research landscape.

In collaboration with the European Commission and the European Green Vehicles Initiative Association, European countries and regions will set-up an ERA-NET Cofund to further promote electric mobility in Europe. Electric Mobility Europe builds on the experiences, networks and results of Electromobility+ and is designed to take transnational e-mobility research and policy exchange to the next level. With a two-track approach, the initiative will link research and policy practice in support of electric mobility at the European level. The first of two pillars of Electric Mobility Europe will fund innovation projects focussing on the application and demonstration of e-mobility with the objective of advancing the mainstreaming of the electrification of mobility in Europe. The initiative will bring together about 30 million EUR for supporting applied innovation projects, including up to 10 million EUR of co-funding provided by the European Commission under Horizon 2020. In 2016, the initiative will issue a call for project proposals addressing the key areas of electric mobility: 1. System integration (transport, (sub)urban areas) 2. Integration of urban freight and city logistics in the e-mobility 3. Smart Mobility concepts and ICT applications 4. Public transport 5. Consumer behaviour and societal trends In addition to funding innovation and demonstration projects, the ERA-NET Cofund Electric Mobility Europe will establish a second pillar of activity. The network will provide a platform for cooperation and exchange of information and experiences among participating countries and regions. In this context, know-how will be shared on setting conducive conditions for the development of electric mobility in Europe (e.g. on charging infrastructure). The network will support this by facilitating suitable means of cooperation such as workshops or seminars in order to exchange or coordinate required actions, in attunement with the European Green Vehicle Initiative Association.