23.09.2026  

We kicked off the first of EERA’s Scientific Webinar Series with an insightful discussion on how prioritising digital frameworks and making data FAIR will strengthen collaboration, accelerate innovation and support the green energy transition. 

Our next session, on 30 November, will focus on Critical Raw Materials. 

With 85+ participants, our webinar brought together experts from across EERA’s Joint Programmes to exchange experiences, talk through ongoing initiatives and identify opportunities for closer collaboration across the energy research community.  

As digitalisation, AI and data-driven technologies gain salience, the ability to collect, understand, share and reuse research data also becomes ever more crucial. Yet, as several speakers highlighted, with these opportunities come key challenges, including fragmentation.  

The webinar did, however, provide a valuable forum to address these common challenges. By bringing together researchers working across diverse disciplines, including wind energy, nuclear materials, smart cities, hydropower and geothermal energy, participants had the opportunity to learn from existing initiatives, ascertain shared needs and develop approaches that can be applied beyond individual projects. 

A crucial insight: 

The approach needs to be practical. 

Sawako Nakamae (JP Ampea) made clear how FAIR principles (making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) will support more effective research and innovation across the energy sector. 

A particularly memorable observation from her presentation captured the importance of usability: 

         “If it's not easy, nobody would use it.”  

Fundamentally, even sophisticated standards and digital infrastructures will have limited impact if they are difficult to integrate into everyday research practice. 

Continuing the conversation: Critical Raw Materials  

The EERA Scientific Webinar Series will continue on 30 November 2026, with the next session dedicated to Critical Raw Materials, another dynamic topic for Europe’s green energy transition and the research and innovation community.