Solar Facilities for the European Research Area – Third Phase
The European SFERA III project continues the activities initiated and developed over the past eight years by European laboratories within the framework of the SFERA and SFERA II programmes. It also extends these activities to new laboratories working in the field, thereby creating a European research infrastructure for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). The project contributes to ensuring a European network of laboratories with unique research facilities in concentrated solar energy and to positioning Europe as a global leader in solar research infrastructures.
SFERA III comprises:
(i) networking activities aimed at strengthening cooperation among research infrastructures, the scientific community, industry, and other stakeholders;
(ii) transnational access activities designed to provide researchers from both academia and industry across Europe with open access to state-of-the-art solar energy research infrastructures;
(iii) joint research activities intended to improve the integrated services provided by the research infrastructure.
These activities aim to achieve scientific excellence through the use of these Research Infrastructures (RIs), strengthen collaboration between the Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) industry and the RIs, foster innovation, develop new activities, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the European economy, thereby contributing to the creation of new jobs within the CST sector. Furthermore, these activities will support the development of new standards to assist the CST industry in the development of innovative components and systems, as well as the construction of new commercial facilities. At the same time, these standards will support the European Commission in the development of European policies for the CST sector.
