Call webinar for Nordic maritime transport and energy research proves promising progress
On 12 January, Nordic Energy Research held a webinar for approximately 50 registered attendees curious to learn more about the open call for Nordic maritime transport and energy research. The…
On 12 January, Nordic Energy Research held a webinar for approximately 50 registered attendees curious to learn more about the open call for Nordic maritime transport and energy research.
The call is organised under the Nordic Maritime Transport and Energy Research Programme, which has been commissioned to continue until 2027 due to the evident potential of gathering experts within the Nordic maritime field, highlighted by the research conducted in the previous programme period of 2021–2023. Nordic Energy Research is pleased to see such commitment among the programme partners as well as the potential call applicants to address the challenges of transitioning the maritime transport sector.
“The interest that we have experienced to this point underlines the relevance of this open call. We hope that the webinar brings more clarity about the call to interested applicants and incentivises the interest in establishing or joining a Nordic consortium on maritime transport and energy research,” says Ole Aune Ødegård, Adviser at Nordic Energy Research and Programme Administrator of the Nordic Maritime Transport and Energy Research Programme.
Deadline for handing in applications to the open call is 22 February 2024 at 13:00 (CET).
For more information about the call, see the webinar presentation here.
The webinar concluded with a Q&A, which is summarised below.
Q&A
Budget
- What is the meaning of in-kind?
Answer: In-kind is defined as the financial and/or professional resources that the Partners of the consortia contribute with to the project. - What should appear in the income section?
Answer: The income section is the sum of total funding sought for each year. - Will the in-kind contribution from companies outside Nordic be counted in 10%?
Answer: All in-kind from Partners will be counted in the 10% requirement of the total budget coming from in-kind contribution, regardless of country. However, Partners should be from a European country to ensure that all regulation on state aid and funding is followed. This includes the UK as well.
Eligibility
- What is the definition of a senior researcher as project manager? Is an associate professor a senior researcher?
Answer: An associate professor might be regarded as an established senior researcher, depending on experience with research project management. Professors, most associate professors, and some researchers with other titles (senior researchers, senior engineer) may be regarded as established senior researchers. The key to fulfilling the eligibility criteria “The Project Manager must be an established senior researcher from this RPO” is for the Project Manager to document extensive experience from leading large research consortia and research project management. - Can a project start before 1 June?
Answer: Yes, all consortia projects are welcome to start before June 1. However, it cannot be promised that the funding can be transferred before June 1 due to short time between the announcement of decision and the project start date. - Can a Danish university get involved in the project and get funded?
Answer: Danish universities are welcome to join a consortium as a Project Owner, Partner, or Observer. However, they are ineligible for receiving funding since there are no national funding institutions from Denmark for this open call. The same applies for Norwegian and Finnish universities and other types of partners such as private companies, industries, local/national authorities etc.
Thematic scope
- Are projects where the fuel production is being developed eligible for funding?
Answer: A project solely focusing on the production of renewable fuel(s) is not eligible for funding as it must concern the maritime sector. However, if fuel production is investigated in the context of building bunkering infrastructure and/or developing a feasible solution for on-site supply chains in ports, it might be relevant within the thematic scope. - Is the scope totally limited to vessels for transport of goods? Is other type of ships within the scope, such as ferries, fishing vessels etc.?
Answer: All types of vessels and ship operations are eligible for investigation under the thematic scope.
Evaluation
- Who are the evaluators for application?
Answer: The evaluators will stay confidential. - How many applications did you receive last time?
Answer: For the last call, Nordic Energy Research received four applications, of which three were selected for funding.
