Despite process heat is recognized as the application with highest potential among solar heating and cooling applications, Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) still presents a modest share of about 0.3% of total installed solar thermal capacity.

As of today’s technology development stage – economic competitiveness restricted to low-temperature applications; technology implementation requiring interference with existing heat production systems, heat distribution networks or even heat consuming processes – solar thermal potential is mainly identified for new industrial capacity in outside Americas and Europe.

In this context, the project INSHIP aims at defining an ECRIA (European Common Research and Innovation Agenda), engaging major European research institutes with recognized activities on SHIP, into an integrated structure that could successfully achieve the following coordination objectives:

• More effective and intensive cooperation between EU research institutions
• Alignment of different SHIP-related national research and funding programmes
• Avoiding overlaps and duplications and identifying gaps
• Acceleration of knowledge transfer to the European industry
• To be the reference organization to promote and coordinate the international cooperation in SHIP research from and to Europe

Another leg of INSHIP is the development of coordinated R&D activities (TRLs 2-5) with the ambition of progressing SHIP beyond the state-of-the-art.