European Programme Smart Cities and Communities

Call for Proposals

The Call for Proposals H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” has been published by the European Commission in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme .

The purpose of the current H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” call for proposals, published by the European Commission in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme, is to identify, develop and deploy replicable, balanced and integrated solutions in the energy, transport, and ICT actions through partnerships between municipalities and industries. These solutions at the intersection of the three sectors will have a holistic approach and are still facing first mover risk. These will be the lighthouse projects as identified by the Communication on Smart Cities and Communities. Lighthouse projects will target primarily large scale demonstration of replicable SCC concepts in city context where existing technologies or very near to market technologies (TRL 7 and more, see part G of the General Annexes) will be integrated in an innovative way.

The specific priorities of the current H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” call for proposals, published by the European Commission in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme, are: to significantly increase the overall energy efficiency of cities, and to exploit better the local resource both in terms of energy supply as well as through the demand side measures. This will imply the use of energy efficiency measures optimising at the level of districts, the use of renewables, the sustainability of urban transport and the needed drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas - within economically acceptable conditions - while ensuring for citizens better life conditions: lower energy bills, swifter transport, job creation and as a consequence a higher degree of resilience to climate impacts (e.g. urban heat islands effects) etc.

 

Eligible proposals to be submitted in the framework of the current H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” call for proposals should address the following main areas:

- nearly zero or low energy districts: through the integration and management of: the supply of energy with predominant exploitation of local resources (e.g. waste heat, renewables, storage) and the active participation of consumers (e.g. use of aggregators); the cost-effective refurbishment of existing buildings without significant disruption for tenants (use of sustainable materials) with a special focus on residential buildings; the cross-cutting ICT solutions for the design and overall management of energy/ transport systems;

- integrated Infrastructures: through the integration of physical infrastructures such as core networks, street scenes, lighting, industrial sites etc. to create new forms of value through re-use and repurposing. This should lead to quantifiable benefits such as reduction of capital /operational expenditure as well as reduced carbon / energy footprints. This might also imply exploitation of synergies between requirements for smart grids, broadband infrastructures and in general poly networks (e.g. district heating and cooling).

- sustainable urban mobility: through the integration of energy/ fuelling infrastructure with vehicle fleets powered by alternative energy carriers for public and private transport, including logistics and freight-distribution. Implications on energy management, and in the case of electromobility, the impact on the electricity grid, of the deployment of high numbers of vehicles and/or the alternative fuel blends performance must be assessed.

 

The expected impact of the current H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” call for proposals, published by the European Commission in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme, are

- deploy wide-scale, innovative replicable and integrated solutions in the energy, transport, and ICT;

- trigger large scale economic investments with the repayment of implementation costs in acceptable time lines (to facilitate the bankability of the projects);

- increase the  energy efficiency of districts and of cities and foster the use of renewables and their integration energy system and enable active participation of consumers;

- increase mobility efficiency with lower emissions of pollutants and CO2;

- reduce the energy costs;

- decarbonise the energy system while making it more secure and stable;

- create stronger links between cities in Member States with various geographical and economical positions through active cooperation.

 

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of the current H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” call for proposals, published by the European Commission in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme,  is estimated at €107,180,000.

 

The deadline for submitting proposals in the framework of the current H2020-SCC-2015-01 “Smart Cities and Communities” call for proposals is 5 May 2015.  

 

Further information on the current call for proposals is available on the European Commission’s web site at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal4/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/2148-scc-01-2015.html#tab1