Cyprus research and innovation initiative secures EU funding

Another successful initiative in the European research and innovation space for Cyprus, with the PHAETHON proposal securing 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 with the University of Cyprus acting as the coordinator.

Professor and presidential candidate Constantinos Christofides and professor George Georgiou, 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.

Constantinos Christofides mentioned on his Twitter account that these teaming projects will create 220 new quality job openings and that the total funding amount will reach 50 million.

Breaking News!

H ΕΕ ανακοίνωσε τις προτάσεις που επιλέγηκαν στο «Teaming for Excellence».
Τα καταφέραμε!!
Το «Φαέθων» στην κορυφή!
Κέντρο αριστείας πράσινης μετάβασης & ενεργειακών λύσεων, πράσινο Η2.
Τεράστια η προοπτική.
220 Θέσεις ποιοτικής εργασίας.
Σχεδιάζουμε το μέλλον! pic.twitter.com/I9hqN7lJnX

— Constantinos Christofides (@ChristofidesCY) December 13, 2022

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.

According to the announcement ”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 encounter 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.

Furthermore, the Cypriot proposal obtained one of the highest rankings in the evaluation with a score of 14.5/15, the same score as another proposal, out of 110 proposals which were submitted at a European level.

This rewarding distinction provides evidence of the high level of 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, Kyriakos Kokkinos says “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 is the exploitation of the momentum created, and through the support of the progress and sustainability of all the Centres of Excellence currently in operation in our country, with a long-term and substantial benefit 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 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.