This proposal aims at supporting the work which has been carried out by the secretariat of the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Renewable Heating and Cooling since 2011. The role of the secretariat is to assist the stakeholders of the RHC-ETIP in coordinating activities related to the definition and implementation of an innovation strategy to increase the use of renewable energy sources for heating and cooling, and to foster the growth and the market uptake of the relevant industries. The secretariat provides support to the structure of the RHC-ETIP, by organising meetings, events, and relevant consultations, and by assisting with the preparation of relevant documents (both of technical and of political nature) to raise the profile and importance of the renewable heating and cooling sector, and its related technologies. This proposal also addresses the need to enlarge the membership of the RHC-ETIP by involving more closely national policy makers, as well as other relevant stakeholders (related industries, and socio-economic experts) in its work. By supporting interactions between several stakeholders representing industry, research and academia, from different renewable heating and cooling technologies, and by gradually including complementary sectors and expertise, the SecRHC-ETIP will assist the RHC sector in strengthening its growth and competitiveness both vis-à-vis traditional heating and cooling technologies, as well as with respect to competitors coming from non-EU countries.

A consortium led by the Austrian Energy Agency (AEA) developed the project "Uptake of Solid Bioenergy in European Commercial Sectors (Industry, Trade, Agricultural and Service Sectors) – Bioenergy for Business" for the EU-Programme Horizon 2020’s Call 2014 (LCE14). The project partners include a combination of energy agencies, national biomass associations and research-oriented partners with specialized knowledge on biomass from Northern, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe (Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine). The goal of this project is to support and promote the (partial) substitution of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) used for heating, by available bioenergy sources (industrial wastes, forest biomass, straw and other agricultural biomass) in the partner countries and beyond. In this context, the project will contribute to increase much-needed security of energy supply through lower dependence on fossil fuels from politically volatile sources. Target groups are, on the one hand, owners and operators of industrial heating plants (for private or district heating). On the other hand, actors who play an important role with regard to the value chain and to framework conditions crucial for the use of bioenergy heat will also be involved. Activities will be tailored to the needs of actors relevant to promising market segments in the industrial, commercial, services and agriculture sectors. Results of the project will include information about market potentials, capacity building/training, decision-support tools and communication activities targeted at relevant stakeholder, tools to support the careful assessment, planning and implementation of such projects, and dissemination of “best-practice” business models. Additionally, information about “best practice” support measures and policies will be made available.