Speaking at different events at the European Parliament over the last two days, DG CLIMA officials have hinted at a follow-on programme to NER300 (26 Nov 2013 Head of Unit Piotr Tulej speaking at ZEP event on CCS; 27 Nov 2013 Director Humberto Delgado-Rosa speaking at an ITRE committee hearing).

Any decision to set up a successor scheme to NER300 will depend on an evaluation exercise to be carried out in 2014 once the Award Decision in respect of the second round of NER300 has been published.

Delgado Rosa said of NER300, “I consider it successful.”

MEPs in the ITRE hearing were keen to see storage technologies included among the those that might be supported in future. Jacques Kiewit from Air Liquide (behind the Green Hydrogen CCS proposal), supported by MEP Chris Davies, called for more flexibility in the NER300 rules. In response, Delgado Rosa said it might be appropriate to “give the Commission more discretion” in a future scheme, but in the first round priority had been put on clear rules so that the EC could “be accountable towards Member States”.

The Industry, Research and Energy committee of the European Parliament has, at the last minute, organised a public hearing on NER300 and the European Energy Programme for recovery (a funding instrument set-up shortly before NER300). It will take place 0900-1100 on Wednesday 27 Nov 2013 in the European Parliament in Brussels.

The project ‘Gobigas phase 2’ (BIOc, SE) from the first call will report its experience of NER300 in a section of the programme called ‘Perspectives on NER300 and lessons learned’.

Then follows a section called ‘Opportunities next NER300 scheme’, where the idea of applying an NER300-type process to storage technologies will be examined.

As an official committee hearing, the event will be web-streamed. This link should take you to the web-stream.