EU-SOLARIS: The European Research Infrastructure Consortium for CSP Technologies

Abstract

ESFRI, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, is a strategic instrument to develop the scientific integration of Europe and to strengthen its international outreach. The competitive and open access to high quality Research Infrastructures supports and benchmarks the quality of the activities of European scientists, and attracts the best researchers from around the world. ESFRI operates at the forefront of European and global science policy and contributes to its development translating political objectives into concrete advice for RI in Europe. ESFRI has established a European Roadmap for Research Infrastructures (new and major upgrades, pan-European interest) for the next 10-20 years, stimulates the implementation of these facilities, and updates the roadmap as needed. The current version of this roadmap has been delivered on December 2021. To be accepted at this roadmap is the first step to recognized as a European Research Infrastructure. Such research infrastructures of European scope may have different legal forms, but the most common is as an ‘ERIC’. An ERIC is a legal entity set up by a decision of the European Commission. It has legal personality and full legal capacity recognised in all EU Member States. The principal task of an ERIC is to establish and operate a research infrastructure on a non- economic basis. As an initiative of Spain, France, Germany and Cyprus as Members and Portugal as an Observer, a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) is to be created, under the name of “European Solar Research Infrastructure for Concentrated Solar Power”, pursuant to the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) Nº 723/2009, of 25 June 2009, on the Community legal framework for a European Research Infrastructure. The EU-SOLARIS ERIC statutory seat is to be established in Almería, Spain.