In October 2021, the EC initiated a process of cross-cooperation between SET Plan Implementation Working Groups to enhance the collaboration between the 14 IWGs of the SET Plan and to facilitate the energy system integration. At the kick-off meeting on 8.3.2022, three parallel sessions were held on the following topics:
- Integration of electrical renewable energy sources, flexibility and storage
- Integration of renewable heat sources with storage, heat/cold management
- Circularity, Life Cycle Analysis, materials, advanced manufacturing.
The three areas are important cross cutting issues, and cooperation and exchanges shall aim to stimulate new ideas and approaches, to design projects together, to exchange insights, data and solutions.
IWG5 covers relevant activities in all three fields, which were presented in the meeting by Annett Kühn, Wim van Helden and Alain Zarli. Examples of potential collaborations are the development and demonstration of Active building facades and roofs together with IWG PV, and the second use of batteries from the mobile sector in buildings together with IWG Batteries. There are several IWGs other than IWG5 interested in cooperating on solar heat, heat pumps, bioenergy CHP, geothermal integration, thermal energy storage and district heating and cooling. IWG5 was suggested as a focal point for this cooperation.