04 October 2021

With an Additional Call, CSP-ERA.NET would like to promote further research projects on solar thermal power plants.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is providing a total of 3 million for this purpose. The Additional Call is intended to further support the European Union's energy goals for solar thermal power plants. Funding is provided for transnational projects in which partners from at least two countries network. Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Germany and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia are participating in the funding call. Drafts can be submitted from now until 3 December 2021.

CSP stands for "Concentrated Solar Power". Solar thermal power plants generate power with concentrated solar rays. They are operated in countries and regions with high direct solar irradiation, including southern Europe, Morocco or China. In Germany, solar thermal power plants only run for research purposes due to the weather. However, components from German plant manufacturers "made in Germany" enjoy an excellent reputation worldwide.

With the CSP-ERA.NET, various European countries and regions have created funding synergies to finance CSP research in a strategically useful and bundled manner. The basis for the research activities is the so-called SET Plan of the European Union. (it)