Green Powered Future Mission

Our goal is to demonstrate that by 2030 power systems in different geographies and climates are able to effectively integrate up to 100% Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) in their generation mix while maintaining a cost-efficient, secure and resilient system.

Variable renewable energy, such as solar and wind, is already the lowest-emission and lowest-cost form of electricity generation in many regions, but its inherent intermittency limits the potential for electricity systems to integrate very high levels of renewable power.

Co-leads

  • China Flag China
  • Italy Flag Italy
  • Great Britain Flag United Kingdom

THE PLAN

To provide confidence that power systems with high shares of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) can guarantee a secure electricity supply, a toolbox of proven innovative solutions is needed, enabling countries to pick and customise technical, market and regulatory solutions as appropriate to their own geography, power system and national strategies.

In its Joint Roadmap the GPFM identified the top-100 innovation priorities that need to be tackled urgently through feasibility studies, pilots and large demonstrators across the following three technical areas, combined with knowledge sharing, capacity building, and dissemination activities.

Affordable and Reliable VRE

Reduce cost and increase efficiency, resilience and reliability of VRE technologies in various climates and system configurations.

Innovation priorities:

  • Break the efficiency ceiling for novel photovoltaic technologies suitable for power system applications.
  • Make offshore wind efficiency and generation costs closer to onshore wind.
  • Demonstrate variable renewable energy can provide 100% of electricity, heat, desalination or hydrogen production in island or off-grid applications.

System Flexibility and Market Design

Develop the much-needed flexible solutions to meet the network infrastructure challenges related to the massive integration of VRE into the grid, to be supported by regulation and innovative market design.

Innovation priorities:

  • Improve power system stability and flexibility to cope with the natural variability of variable renewable energy.
  • Demonstrate innovative flexibility solutions such as long-term duration storage to tackle VRE seasonal variability.

Data and Digitalisation for System Integration

Accelerate the digitalisation of energy systems through the development of interoperable data exchange and effective energy system integration.

Innovation priorities:

  • Ensure compliance with international standards to enable interoperability and data sharing.
  • Increase coordination and speed of responsiveness across flexible assets.

The Sprints

5 Demos in Five Continents

Establishing five continental demonstrators with up to 80% Variable Renewable Energy by 2024. This multi-million dollar sprint will enable the implementation of 20+ national pilots (by governments and the private sector), sharing progress and learning at continental level.

FP1 National Pilots report: Learn more.

Multilateral Research Programme

A new multilateral research programme to tackle 20 of the identified innovation priorities to achieve the Mission goal. The first open calls will be launched in 2023, with further calls planned annually.