Polish R&D projects worth €43 million in regional funds are recognised in EU innovation competition have been shortlisted for the 2021 edition of the European Innovation Procurement Awards (EUIPA).
The National Centre for Research and Development is among the 6 finalists of the first edition of the award, which was set up to open up routes to the market for new players, such as SMEs and research-intensive spin-outs.
The competition is organised by the European Innovation Council under the Horizon Europe programme, and in intended to highlight the activities of the best public and private buyers promoting innovative practices across Europe.
The winners will be announced on 25 November 2021 at the European Innovation Council Summit. In addition to this prestigious award, the winner of each category (3 in total) will be awarded €75 000, and each runner-up will win €25 000.
The NCBR projects are focused on new R&I solutions and technologies supporting the European Green Deal, such as a biogas, energy and process-efficient construction, innovative heating plants, combined heat and power plants, energy storage, energy-efficient ventilation for schools and homes, and heat and cold storage.
The projects are financed through the European Regional Development Fund, and their total budget amounts to €43 million.
To advance projects that support the European Green Deal, the NCBR to implemented the "Innovation Sapper", a methodology dedicated to innovative projects in the pre-commercial procurement procedure in the field of green technologies. Researchers can join public and private organisations to
In the "Innovation Sapper" methodology, the contracting authority defines a specific social or economic need. The purchaser indicates a research challenge as the subject of a project for which the contractors develop solutions.
For several years now, the NCBR has been successfully implementing innovative R&I projects, based on the problem-driven research model of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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