DemoWind Project: Joint Call 2015 Open for EU Offshore Wind Innovation

DemoWind, the Offshore Wind European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) Cofund, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, launched a Joint Call 2015 on 25th February 2015. 

DemoWind offers the opportunity for project consortia to participate in its first Joint Call this year for collaborative offshore wind demonstration projects.

The total funding available for the DemoWind Joint Call 2015 projects is up to €31 million, made up of national and regional budgets from funding organisations in six countries (Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK) and an EU contribution.

Projects are expected to run between December 2015 and April 2019. Total project costs are expected to be a minimum of €1m in total and no single project is expected to receive more than 50% of the Call budget. Total eligible project costs of any consortium partner must not exceed 70 % of the total eligible project costs.

DemoWind project consortia must be industry-led and must include a minimum of two independent, industrial partners from at least two of the countries participating in the Joint Call. Projects must demonstrate an innovative technology, system or process that has not been demonstrated previously. DemoWind funding comes via national and/ or regional funding organisations; therefore DemoWind applicants and projects must comply with the relevant national and/or regional funding criteria.

Organisations from other countries (not involved in the 2015 call) can participate, as long as they can provide their own funding.

The DemoWind Joint Call will support innovation in the following wide range of offshore wind technologies:

• Turbine components;
• Foundation structures (fixed);
• Floating offshore systems;
• Electrical networks;
• Installation & decommissioning practices;
• Operations & maintenance;
• Large met-ocean database.

Projects must advance innovative technologies from Technology Readiness Levels 5 or 6 to Technology Readiness Levels 6 or 7.

Deadline for outline proposal is April 27, 2015.

Image: Vattenfall (Illustration)