Clean Energy Transition Partnership
European Partnership to boost and accelerate the energy transition
Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland, alongside the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), is participating in the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), supporting Irish researchers to develop and strengthen transnational collaborations and accelerate the energy transition towards achieving the EU’s goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
CETP is a European Partnership co-funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe, enabling regional and national funders and organisations to pool resources, leverage knowledge and experience and strategically align priorities to drive a unified response to shared challenges and to meet the ambitious objectives required to transform the energy system across all its dimensions.
The three main goals of the CETP are:
- Joint programming and funding;
- Renewable energy technology development, demonstration and integration (for fuels, carbon capture and storage, power, heating, and cooling) and system change (e.g. energy infrastructures);
- Innovation ecosystem fostering capacity building, faster market diffusion, upscaling, replication and enabling of the clean energy transition.
A joint Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda defines specific thematic challenges – also referred to as ‘Transition Initiatives’ (TRIs) - to be addressed under CETP, primarily through the implementation of joint transnational calls (JTCs) for research and innovation projects.
The Joint Call 2024 includes 42 funding organisations across 30 EU Member States and Associated Countries, with a total available budget up to €100 million.
More information on the CET Partnership and the Joint Call 2024, including the call text and general eligibility requirements, are available on https://cetpartnership.eu/.
Details specific to applicants based in Ireland requesting funding through Research Ireland can be found below.
Research Ireland is participating in the following subset of call modules only:
- CM2024-01: Energy data spaces and interoperability
- CM2024-02: Energy system flexibility: renewables production, storage and system integration
- CM2024-04: Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)
- CM2024-05: Hydrogen and renewable fuels
- CM2024-06: Heating and cooling technologies
- CM2024-07: Geothermal energy technologies
- CM2024-010: Clean energy integration in the built environment
Pre-proposals for all other call modules requesting funding from Research Ireland will be deemed ineligible.
Applicant based in Ireland should refer to the CETP Joint Call 2024 funding agencies table to review the call modules supported by other Irish agencies. To apply for funding through SEAI or GSI, please refer directly to their respective requirements and webpages for further information.
Awarded projects will have a duration of up to 36 months. For applicants based in Ireland, Research Ireland will provide the following funding for projects:
- Up to a maximum of €330,000 direct costs* per award for Irish applicants as Partner on transnational proposals.
- Up to a maximum of €405,000 direct costs* per award for Irish applicants as Coordinator on transnational proposals.
*The maximum total award, including overhead contribution, will be €430,000, for a partner and €530,000 for applicants who take on the role of coordinator.
Applicants must meet the primary eligibility requirements outlined in Research Ireland’s Who Can Apply policy document available here and all additional call eligibility criteria as specified in Annex C of the Joint Call Text 2024.
Please note that individuals who hold a contract of employment (whole or in-part, primary or secondary) with industry or any other private sector entity, are not deemed eligible to apply to CETP through Research Ireland. Such individuals interested in the CETP Joint Call 2024 should review the necessary criteria to apply via the other participating Irish agencies.
- Research Ireland will only accept one pre-proposal application per individual applicant.
- Applicants can apply to both Research Ireland and other participating Irish agencies with different project proposals, if eligible under each agency’s own rules. An applicant is not permitted to request funding from more than one participating Irish agency for the same pre-proposal.
- If two or more Ireland-based applicants are partners on the same pre-proposal planning to carry out distinct work, funding can be requested separately by each partner to different participating agencies, adhering to each agency’s own rules and requirements. Please note Research Ireland will fund only one partner per proposal.
If applying through Research Ireland, please give a brief notification of your intent to submit a pre-proposal through email to eu-cofund@researchireland.ie before the submission deadline. Within the notification, please include the following information:
- List of project partners
- Irish Host institution*
- Total Budget request to Research Ireland
- Whether you intend to apply as a coordinating or non-coordinating partner
*Please note it is also the responsibility of the applicant to notify the research office of their Irish Host Institution of their intention to submit a pre-proposal to the CETP JTC 2024
The completed pre-proposal must be submitted directly on the CETPartnership Submission Platform.
Applicants may be contacted directly by Research Ireland to confirm eligibility following proposal submission or at any time subsequently should queries arise in relation to the application.
Key Dates
| Clean Energy Transition Partnership | Key Dates |
|---|---|
| CETPartnership Joint Call Pre-announcement: what's in it for me? | 4 June 2024 ONLINE 9:00 - 11:30 local time (recording available) |
| Joint Call 2024 Launch Event | 12 September ONLINE 9:00-11:30 local time |
| Opening for pre-proposal submission (Stage 1) | 19 September 2024 |
| Deadline for pre-proposal submission | 21 November 2024, 14:00 CET (NB: 13:00 local time) |
| Opening for full proposal submission (Stage 2) |
29 January 2025 |
| Deadline for full proposal submission | 2 April 2025 |
| Funding decision communicated |
Beginning of July 2025 |
| Project start | 1 September–15 December 2025 |