A founding member since 2008, ENEA (the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) has always been part of the most active segment of the EERA membership. A member of the EERA Executive Committee, the Agency also plays a key role in many of its Joint Programmes and its Policy Working Group.

Over the years ENEA and EERA have collaborated and continue to cooperate at several levels, from the organisation of Workshops (see for example last year's event organised jointly by JPs Fuel Cells and Hydrogen and Energy Storage) to the participation in EERA projects. Among these, the EERAdata project, the INSHIP project and the recently launched ORIENT NM project are to be highlighted. The participation inside EERA allows ENEA to follow closely other important aspects of the Alliance's activities, such as the execution of the flagship project SUPEERA, focused on supporting the coordination of national research and innovation programmes.

Being a key EERA member has also allowed ENEA to take part in its latest and most important advocacy activities. As a matter of fact, ENEA was among the signatories of the EERA letter to the EU institutions, asking to reconsider the position on the EU budget in light of the proposed cuts to fundamental topics, like research and innovation. The Italian Agency has also been directly involved, through its members, in the writing process of the White Paper for the SRIA (Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda) of the Clean Energy Transition Partnership, crucial piece of the next research framework programme Horizon Europe. ENEA also belongs to the EERA Executive Committee and the Policy Working Group.

ENEA's active participation in the Alliance's activities shows that a stronger cooperation between research institutions across Europe can create a real added value. The potential of such collaboration can be further increased with the close participation of all the actors of the EU R&I landscape.

Link to original article [Italian]