Become a member

Your first point of contact – whether you are already a member of EERA or not – is the Joint Programme Coordinator. To become a participant of a Joint Programme:

• Get in touch with the Joint Programme Coordinator.
• The Steering Committee of the Joint Programme will then assess your application (link to the application form) and inform you about their decision.
• Once your application has been approved, please inform the EERA Secretariat.

If you are not an EERA member yet, there is a second step: becoming a member of the EERA association (EERA aisbl) itself. This step is not relevant for EERA members that want to join an additional Joint Programme.

• When you have been approved as a Joint Programme member, the EERA Secretariat will present your application to the EERA Executive Committee.
• If the Executive Committee approves your application, the Secretariat will contact you for the next steps. These involve a Declaration of Support which has to be signed by a high-level representative from your organisation as well as your registration in our Membership Portal.

Acceptance of the application relies on an objective procedure based on the score achieved by the applicant quantifying specific justified contributions on CSP topics during the 3 years preceding the application, within the following categories:

1. Scientific Excellence
   1. Number of peer reviewed papers directly related to CSP topics and published (Scientific Citation Index) during the last 3 years. 
   2. Number of conference papers directly related to CSP topics and presented at major international CSP events during the last 3 years.
   3. Number of defended and approved PhD thesis directly related to CSP topics during the last 3 years.
2. Organization Experience
   1. Sum of total individual budget of international projects, directly related to CSP topics/technologies and with third-party funding, divided by 100 k€, executed totally or partially during the last 3 years.
   2. Sum of total individual budget of national projects, directly related to CSP topics/technologies and with third-party funding divided by 100 k€, executed totally or partially during the last 3 years.
3. Organization Research Capacities
   1. Number of average staff person-years/year devoted to CSP related projects or activities, during the last 3 natural years (i.e. 2011-2013)
   2. Total investment of existing operational experimental facilities / equipment's / labs belonging to the organization and directly related to CSP topics divided by 100 k€
4. Organization Impact
   1. Number of running patents and patent applications, directly related to CSP topics/technologies, submitted in the past 3 years.
5. Added Value to EERA JP-CSP
6. Score reserved to JP-CSP Steering Committee to make possible to consider other possible benefits (such, as example, bringing a new additional country to the JP).

If a minimum defined score is achieved, which is different in the case of Full Partner and Associated Partner, the application may be considered and acceptance will be granted almost automatically at the next physical Steering Committee meeting.

To this end, an Excel table could be provided to the applicant to perform preliminary checks on the possible scores to be achieved (thresholds levels also apply within the first 3 blocks).

The EERA JP-CSP, involving the majority of relevant CSP research organizations in Europe, is the association of reference with regard to the European Commission and national financing entities in the field of CSP technologies. It is a main stakeholder at initiatives such as the Clean Energy Transition Partnership and the European Green Deal. It has a fluent and continuous dialog with the industrial sector through ESTELA (European Solar Thermal Electricity Association) and similar national organizations. It has also a key position in the context of CSP Implementation Plan of SET-Plan and associated Implementation Working Group (IWG).