On 10 September, 70 participants from research, policymaking and industry gathered in Brussels for the EERA Day in Belgium, organised by EERA together with the Belgian Energy Research Alliance (BERA).

Under the theme The Potential of European Research and Development Collaboration to Achieve the Energy Transition, the event explored how stronger cooperation between the Belgian and European energy research and innovation ecosystems can help accelerate the clean energy transition.

Across three sessions, discussions moved from aligning Belgian and EU R&I priorities, to showcasing Belgian energy research and innovation in action, and finally to strengthening the path from research to industrial deployment and market uptake.

Aligning Belgian and EU energy R&I priorities

The first session brought together representatives from the European Commission, Flanders and Wallonia to discuss how European, national and regional R&I priorities can reinforce one another.

Three messages stood out:

• Alignment matters: European, national and regional priorities, funding and expertise need to work together.
• The SET Plan provides an important framework for coordinating energy R&I efforts across Europe. 
• Research networks can strengthen the link between research and policy, helping expertise from national and regional ecosystems feed into European priorities. 

Belgium in the European energy R&I ecosystem

Five case studies highlighted Belgian expertise in offshore wind, high-temperature industrial heat, energy-system modelling, geothermal energy and next-generation photovoltaics.

Despite their different technological focus, the discussions converged around three points:

• Belgium brings significant expertise to European energy R&I, supported by specialised research capabilities, infrastructures and long-standing collaboration.
• Speed matters: Europe needs to shorten the journey from excellent research to industrial application and deployment.
• Collaboration needs the right conditions, including access to demonstrators and research infrastructures, reliable data, co-creation with industry and strong European research networks.

Shaping the future of Belgian-European energy R&I cooperation

The final session looked ahead, asking how research priorities can translate into investment, industrial deployment and market uptake.

Three priorities emerged:

• Move from roadmaps to investment: shared R&I priorities need to be connected to concrete investment and complementary funding instruments.
• Think beyond individual projects: promising research needs continuity from R&I through demonstration and scale-up to the market.
• Bring industry in early: stronger research-industry cooperation and more flexible participation mechanisms can help innovations progress towards deployment.
  Connecting research for greater impact

Across all three sessions, one message connected the discussions: Europe has strong research expertise, but stronger connections are needed to translate it into impact.

By bringing together researchers, policymakers and industry, the EERA Day in Belgium provided a space to strengthen these connections and explore how Belgian expertise can contribute to a coordinated European energy R&I ecosystem.