Evaluation confirms high effectiveness

Evaluation report on the BMWE’s project funding under the 7th Energy Research Programme published

Project funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) under the 7th Energy Research Programme has strengthened energy research and supported the transformation of the energy system. This is demonstrated by the recently published accompanying and ex-post evaluation of funding activities from 2018 to the end of 2023.

The 7th Energy Research Programme makes a significant contribution to the technological, economic and societal transformation of the energy system. It strengthens the scientific and technical foundations of the energy transition, supports innovation across the entire value chain and promotes networking among key stakeholders. According to the evaluation team, the programme thus creates the long-term conditions for technological sovereignty and for securing Germany’s position as an industrial hub.

In total, the BMWE has funded 6,499 sub-projects from companies, universities, research institutions and other organisations. The evaluation attests to the programme’s high strategic relevance and its strong alignment with Germany’s energy policy objectives.

From technology funding to a systemic approach

With the 7th Energy Research Programme, the German government has fundamentally advanced German energy research policy. For the first time, the focus was not on individual technologies, but on the interplay between innovations, market players and societal conditions. New funding formats, such as the Living labs of the energy transition and micro-projects, have broadened the perspective on the restructuring of the energy system as a transformation process affecting society as a whole. For instance, the Living labs of the energy transition enable the testing of innovative technologies and business models under real-world conditions and promote their scaling up and market launch. Micro-projects have proven particularly effective for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a low-threshold route to research funding.

Significant impetus for innovation, transfer and investment

The evaluation team also rated the programme’s contributions to technological innovation positively. This promotes, not least, the competitiveness of the German economy. The projects funded by the BMWE developed new technologies, improved existing solutions and significantly increased their technological maturity. On average, the projects increased their technology readiness level by more than two stages. Furthermore, they made important contributions to increasing energy and resource efficiency and to reducing emissions.

Significantly increased investment thanks to funding

The economic impact of the funding is also significant: project funding from the BMWE under the 7th Energy Research Programme triggered investments in research and development of around €4.9 billion, €3.3 billion of which came from grant funding. The funding triggered additional investments of €1.6 billion. According to the evaluation team, the high level of additionality is particularly noteworthy: 70 per cent of the projects would not have been implemented without funding, whilst a further 28 per cent were expanded or accelerated as a result of the funding. Windfall effects played only a minor role.

Recommendations will be incorporated into the further development of the Energy Research Programme

The evaluation also shows that the programme has strengthened cooperation between academia, industry and other stakeholders and supported knowledge transfer. The BMWE’s Energy Research Networks have proven to be important platforms for exchange, networking and the identification of new research needs.

Looking ahead, the experts recommend, in particular, even closer integration of energy research, energy policy and market design, an acceleration of the transfer of research findings into practice, and the further expansion of practice-oriented funding instruments. Many of these recommendations were already taken into account during the design of the BMWE’s current 8th Energy Research Programme. These include mission-oriented management, improved governance structures, simplified procedures, even greater transparency and an even stronger focus on transfer and application. (ml)