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14-12-2022 12:15 |
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Cyprus
has been successful in participating in the European Arena of research and
innovation |
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The “PHAETHON” proposal secured
the highest score in the EU for the creation of a Centre of Excellence in the
field of Green and Sustainable Energy. Cyprus has been successful in participating in the competitive programme of the European Union (EU) for Research and Innovation (R&I), “Horizon Europe”, specifically in the context of the programme “Teaming for Excellence”, where the PHAETHON proposal under the coordination of the University of Cyprus and Professors Constantinos Christofides and George E. Georghiou, secured a total funding of €15 million, and an equal amount of national funding, as well as significant funding from the private sector, for the upgrade of the existing “FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy” of the University of Cyprus, into a Centre of Excellence in the field of green and sustainable energy. The consortium of the PHAETHON proposal further includes the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation “Cyprus Seeds”, the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Groningen of the Netherlands. More specifically, the research
activities of the “PHAETHON” Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence for
Intelligent, Efficient and Sustainable Energy Systems, will focus on the
development of solutions and applications that can address a wide range of
contemporary global energy challenges, and holistically target technological,
socio-economic, political and environmental aspects. The main pillars of
PHAETHON constitute green development, sustainable energy, storage systems,
green hydrogen technologies and the development of intelligent energy
systems, in alignment with the European Green Deal policy goals for a
climate-neutral Europe by 2050. It is worth mentioning that the
Cypriot proposal obtained the highest ranking in the evaluation with a score
of 14.5/15, the same score with another proposal, out of 110 proposals which
were submitted at a European level. This rewarding distinction provides
evidence of the excellence of the academic and research community of our
country, and further reflects the state’s commitment and effective
intervention towards the establishment of Cyprus as a peripheral centre of
research, innovation and entrepreneurship. While congratulating all the
involved partners, the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital
Policy, Mr Kyriakos Kokkinos, mentioned that this is an additional
commendable success of our country, which has made significant steps towards
its development into a dynamic society of knowledge. “Our top priority”, the
Deputy Minister noted, “is taking advantage of the momentum created, and
achieving, through the support of the progress and sustainability of all the
Centres of Excellence currently in operation in our country, long-term and
substantial benefits both for the Centres and for the economy and society of
Cyprus”. Currently, there are already
six Centres of Excellence in operation in Cyprus, which were created in the
context of the two previous calls of the “Teaming” programme, placing our
country in the first place in Europe, having secured 7 out of 38 in total
Centres of Excellence that were funded to date. The “Teaming for Excellence”
programme aims at bridging the gap between countries, through the development
of new collaborations and scientific networks for the creation of new Centres
of Excellence or for the radical upgrading of existing ones. (MH/SCH) |
