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.

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.