Delegation of the European Union to China and Mongolia
Europe Aid
Cooperation Section
EU-China Research and Innovation Partnership
Instigation of Research and Innovation Partnership on
Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Sustainable
Energy Solutions for Cities (IRES-8)
Duration
42 months (15 Mar. 2015 – 14 Sep. 2018) )
Beneficiary countries
China
EU Grant
799,671.24 EUR
Partner Contribution
199,918.20 EUR
Coordinator
The University of Manchester
Partners
Tsinghua University
Norweigian University of Science and Technology, NTNU
Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna
University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
North China Electric Power University
Beijing Jiaotong University
State Grid Smart Grid Research Institute
Location
UK, Italy, Croatia, Norway and China
Project Website
http://www.eee.manchester.ac.uk/our-research/researchthemes/energy/ires8/
Project contact
ires-8@manchester.ac.uk
EU Delegation Contact
Wang Zhengyu (Zhengyu.Wang@eeas.europa.eu)
Background
The EU and China are dependent on flexible electrical energy, available when required and at an
affordable social and environmental cost. Today, most of our electrical energy is produced by
converting the carbon stored in coal or natural gas into heat energy and then via turbines and
synchronous generators into electricity. In future, society needs to address the challenges of global
warming and reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. All the partners in this action are involved in
research that allows energy networks to become smarter and optimise the exploitation of
renewable energy available via wind, waves, photovoltaic, solar thermal, bio-mass and hydro. To
incorporate these green, but often intermittent energy resources, real time information needs to be
communicated between the suppliers and consumers of electricity, the energy stores, and the
operators of the transmission and distribution grids. These so called “smart-grids” refer to the
balancing of supply and demand without resorting to the burning of coal and gas. As a part of these
smart-grids, multiple energy and service vectors (electricity, heat, cooling, fuels, transport, water
and wastewater) have to interact more closely, providing an untapped potential for greater energy
efficiency. Realising this potential involves the optimization of the arising interactions and the
prioritisation of the potential efficiency measures.
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Delegation of the European Union to China and Mongolia
Europe Aid In addition to the challenges caused by the transformation from fossil fuelled energy to a future
dominated by renewables, recent socio-economic forecasts predict >70% of the world’s population
will live in cities by 2050, further emphasising the need to decarbonise urban energy systems and
address climate-change challenges. EU development policy at research, industrial strategy and
social levels identifies energy solutions for cities as a key target in managing our impact on the
climate.
The long term prosperity of the EU energy sector requires access to globally leading research and
innovation (R&I), including collaborative research between universities and research organisations
in the EU and China. The EU 20/20/20 energy vision and the China National Medium- and LongTerm Programme for Science and Technology Development in Energy form the foundation of this
action and inspire positive and far-reaching opportunities in the promotion of low-carbon economics
and the growth of relevant industry.
Project Overall Objectives
O1 – Ensure closer understanding between EU1 and Chinese researchers and to use the
knowledge gained to support increased research, innovation and economic links in the area of low
carbon energy.
Specific Objectives
SO 1– To build closer and more structured research collaboration between the partners who are
already leading research organisations in the low carbon energy sector.
SO 2 - To engage talented EU researchers in strategically important low carbon energy research in
the Chinese partner organisations
SO 3 -To improve the researchers’ ability to work in China and understand how large, medium and
small companies can exploit the research undertaken by Chinese Institutions
SO 4 - To disseminate and apply the knowledge acquired to grow EU expertise and skills, and
help strengthen EU trade with China, especially in the energy sector.
Estimated Project Results
 36 EU researchers will be seconded to China for a total of 213 months to conduct energy
research and experience how the Chinese partners undertake R&I and translate the outcomes
to products, systems and solutions designed developed, and manufactured by Chinese public
and private sector organisations.
 Communication of these methodologies for R&I translation to other EU researchers through 3
industrially focused networking meetings in Norway, Italy and Croatia; a R&I conference in the
UK and the numerous papers and reports published or presented as a part of IRES-8. Each
seminar and the conference will include dedicated sessions on R&I translation methods, in
addition to the technical papers authored by the mobility researchers and their supervisors.
 The R&I manager will prepare at least 3 articles for the EU technical press highlighting how
R&I institutions in China exploit their research and develop products, systems and solutions.
 At least 15 papers jointly authored by the Chinese and EU researchers involved in this action
will be submitted to prestigious IEEE/IET/ETEP journals; previous experience indicates that
most will be accepted and published during the action or soon afterwards.
 The networking meetings and the R&I conference will focus on the development of a longer
term “industry supporters” club with a subscription model that will contribute to the long term
sustainability of the action.
Main Project Activities
Work package 1 - Preparation and Organisation Phase.
Work package 2 – Mobility Phase.
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Delegation of the European Union to China and Mongolia
Europe Aid  Theme 1 - Renewable Energy
 Theme 2 - Energy Efficiency
 Theme 3 - Sustainable Energy Solutions for Cities
Work package 3 – Researcher Support and Academic Development Phase.
Work package 4 - Dissemination and Network Development Phase
Updated time of fiche: May 2015
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