CEN-CLC/JTC 14 ‘Energy management and energy efficiency in the framework of energy transition’ (JTC 14)  published new EN 17463 ‘Valuation of Energy related investments (VALERI)’. The standard is an important breakthrough in the developing field of “green finance”, and it was the result of the efforts of many European experts invested in this work during the difficult time of the pandemic. Its unique achievement is that it lays down a clear and comprehensive path towards the economic evaluation of actions to improve energy performance, including multiple benefits and renewable sources, by proposing the use of “Net Present Value” (NPV) calculations.

 The methodology is expected to increase the confidence of financial institutions and investors in energy performance improvement projects because of the material integration of the technical and financial risk assessment.

CEN and CENELEC and their Members are fully committed to strengthening their relationship with researchers and innovators and promoting standards as tools to channel research outcomes and innovative ideas into the market. Standards are increasingly recognized as a crucial tool to get the most out of research results as they form a common language that allows researchers, people and industry to communicate, produce and commercialize products and services, as acknowledged by the “EU valorization policy”.  

On the other hand, a common misconception that can often be heard is that standardization can block innovation. New CEN and CENELEC Guide 39 on the role of standards in technology transfers helps to counter this argument by highlighting how standards promote innovation in the marketplace. The main target audience of this Guide are researchers, providers of new technologies, entrepreneurs, and start-ups that are interested in making use of standardization to support a research outcome into a market innovation.

In 2021, the European Commission launched the latest Research Framework programme: Horizon Europe. Horizon Europe will run from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of 95.5 billion Euros targeting researchers and innovators in pursuit of Europe’s strategic goals, with a focus on the green and digital transition.  The first set of calls for proposals (for 2021-2022) were published in June of last year, with 846 different calls addressing areas such as civil security, digital industry, climate and energy, bioeconomy, health and innovative ecosystems.

Consortia of interested organizations including national standards bodies and CEN and CENELEC can submit proposals. If selected, the consortia will receive the relevant EU funding to run the project.