Plasma Conversion of CO2

Transcription

1 Plasma Conversion of CO2 Guidelines Call for Proposals for STW-Alliander Programme Starting date: 10 Sept 2013 Version: 29 August 2013

2 Pagina 1 / 36 Table of Contents Table of Contents... 1 Introduction... 3 Budget... 3 Goal... 3 Call description Plasma Conversion of CO Research questions Summary of requested research topics Collaboration with industry... 6 Utilisation Users User committees Programme Committee Reporting Intellectual Property Policy (IP policy)... 8 Assessment procedure Deadline for submission of applications and processing period Formal requirements Pre-advise and cooperation Pre-selection Assessment by referees Applicants rebuttal Jury procedure Decision making STW/NWO Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest After award Further information Contacts Links Guidelines for applicants Main and co-applicants Who can act as main and co-applicants? Main and co-applicants with a part-time appointment Who cannot apply? Drawing up and submitting the research proposal Format Notes relating to the application form Contact details main applicant Contact details co-applicant(s) Title Keywords Summaries Research summary Utilisation summary Summary STW s website Current composition of the research group Scientific description Research contents/introduction Fit into the programme Existing infrastructure Time plan and division of tasks Utilisation plan The problem and the proposed solution Potential users... 18

3 Pagina 2 / Past performance Intellectual property Contracts Patents Positioning of the project proposal Uniqueness of the proposed project Embedding of the proposed project Request for support elsewhere Financial planning Personnel positions Consumables Travel abroad Investments Contribution from users Cost breakdown Letters of support References Selection of key publications research group List of publications cited Abbreviations and acronyms Appendix Co-funding of large projects Appendix Notes for the completion of an FP form Appendix Specimen form Declaration and signing by the applicant Appendix Assessment Assessment by external referees Scientific quality Utilisation potential (the application of the results of the research by third-parties) Fit with the themes of the call Assessment by the expert jury Appendix Timeline Appendix Programme description Plasma Conversion of CO

4 Pagina 3 / 36 Introduction Technology Foundation STW fosters collaboration between academic and industrial researchers. STW and the energy network company Alliander have agreed to initiate a research programme on plasma conversion of CO 2. This new programme is part of national multidisciplinary scientific programme in the field of clean CO 2 neutral fuel production from H 2 O and CO 2 initiated by the NWO theme Sustainable Energy. This national programme is embedded in the NWO proposition for the Dutch Top Sector Energy and forms part of the TKI Gas (Dutch Top Consortium for Knowledge and Innovation on Gas) theme Power2Gas/Gas2Energy. Society and the global economy still depend heavily on a fossil-fuel-based energy infrastructure. Spurred by worries about climate change, Europe is implementing increasingly stricter limits on CO 2 emissions. The Netherlands is still far from fulfilling the requirements set by the EU for Efficient techniques for energy transport and storage are one of the necessary pillars for a sustainable energy system. In this respect there is a strong need to produce CO 2 neutral fuels from sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind. Therefore, NWO is soliciting excellent proposals that fulfil the fundamental research needs for innovation towards a CO 2 neutral energy system. Participants in the NWO programme on CO 2 neutral fuels are the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), NWO Chemical Sciences, the Gouverning Board of NWO, Technology Foundation STW, and the industrial partners Shell and Alliander. The programme will be coordinated by the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER). Earlier this year an NWO published a call on CO 2 neutral fuels aimed at basic research to explore various options of CO 2 conversion. The NWO call focuses on understanding the underlying science of the CO 2 conversion process to CO and O 2. However, this new call considers the system as a whole with a view to applications, for example CO 2 capture as an input or the CO/O 2 separation step as the output of the system. The central theme of the research proposed must be the plasma conversion step. In addition a system analysis will be required in each project that covers the entire process chain, from energy production to utilising the innovative solutions for CO 2 capture and CO/O 2 separation. Budget The total budget for this call is 2 million euros. This is made available by Technology Foundation STW (1 million euros), the Governing Board of NWO (0.5 million euros) and Alliander (0.5 million euros). In addition, private cofunding from companies/organisations may be added to the individual project budgets. Goal The objective of the STW-Alliander programme is to investigate the plasma conversion of CO 2 with a view to efficiently producing CO that is subsequently processed into gaseous or liquid fuel. The STW-Alliander programme complements the NWO programme on CO 2 neutral fuels which calls for underlying research on the basic principles of CO 2 conversion. The STW-Alliander call is application driven and aimed at system solutions that pave the way to industrialisation of the technology. Alliander is providing funding for this call in order to facilitate the market introduction of CO 2 neutral fuels and to ease the transition to a renewable energy based economy. The programme calls for collaboration between university groups, research institutes and Industry covering a range of expertise including the capture of CO 2, the splitting into CO and O 2, the separation of CO from the exit gas stream, and the chemical processing into liquid or gaseous fuel. Overall system analysis and demonstration in a pilot facility are part of the call. At DIFFER a 100kW pilot plant facility is under development. This facility is open to collaboration with research groups covering the range of expertise required for this project. For this call collaboration between research groups from different disciplines is mandatory. Collaboration with industry is also mandatory. Companies other than Alliander are eligible as a partner.

5 Pagina 4 / 36 Please note that Alliander is especially interested in an overall system impact analysis on current and possible alternative energy transport/distribution systems. Applicants are invited to contact Alliander about their intentions in this respect. Call description 1. Plasma Conversion of CO2 Using a plasma is an innovative way of activating CO 2. Power to generate the plasma is derived from renewable electricity. DIFFER s research programme is directed at plasma activation of CO 2 for the production of CO 2 neutral fuels. This research effort is open to collaboration, here facilitated by STW-Alliander funding, for research groups in the Netherlands. The research fits within the Top Sector Energy, possibly Chemistry and can be of great innovative value because: It offers a solution to the storage and transport problem of renewable energy. The liquid and gaseous fuel produced feeds into existing oil and gas infrastructure. The CO 2 reactant is non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-flammable and can be stored at relatively low pressure offering substantial safety and environmental benefits. Reutilising CO 2 adds value to industrial point source emissions of CO 2. Research into plasma based processing yields spin-off to the chemical process industry. Employing abundant materials lowers the cost of industrial processing. Chemical process devices considered are stable and compact. The projected advantages of plasma activation of CO 2 include: High energy efficiency (>50%) in the conversion of electrical into chemical energy. High energy density in the fuel produced. No need for electrodes and/or rare catalytic materials. Low gas temperature (< 600K) in processing plant, relaxing engineering requirements. Near-atmospheric pressure and flow (l/min vs. ml/min in the photo-electro catalytic scheme) yields high throughput. Because of these advantages plasma activation of CO 2 offers an interesting alternative to electrolysis of water. The CO produced becomes the starting point of known chemistry to produce, for example, H 2 by means of the reverse water gas shift reaction: CO + H 2 O --> CO 2 + H 2 (1) after which reaction the CO 2 produced may be recycled to produce CO again. 2. Research questions The plasma activation is the central research theme for this call. Possible research questions that can be addressed are: What is the preferred technology for plasma generation and what is the optimal technology for the plasma source? What are the important energy loss processes, including radiation, and how can these be minimised (for example an optical cavity or the re-utilisation of waste heat generated)? Is thermodynamic non-equilibrium essential in obtaining high-energy efficiency in the plasma activation process? Which CO 2 excitation lowers the activation threshold most and how can specific molecular vibration modes be preferentially excited?

6 Pagina 5 / 36 What role is played by the reduced electric field and the electron energy distribution function of the plasma? How can these parameters be determined, optimised and controlled? What is the role of the interaction of ro-vibrational excited molecules and ions with the reactor wall and possibly with catalytic materials employed? For industrial fuel production at high throughput would it be possible to operate at or above atmospheric pressure? How can plasma instabilities developing at high pressure be understood and controlled? Howcan the reactor be upscaled to a large industrial plant? These research questions can be combined with research questions that address the input gas feed of CO 2 : How to combine the plasma activation step of CO 2 with carbon capture and sequestration / utilisation (CCS/U) technology serving as an input to the conversion step? Novel innovative concepts of CO 2 capture are required that match the flow and pressure conditions of the plasma conversion step. What are the gas purity requirements of the CO 2 input gas stream and how does this influence the overall energy efficiency? or regarding the exit CO/O 2 /CO 2 gas separation step and the chemical post-processing into CO2 neutral fuel: How can CO be separated from the effluent gas stream consisting of CO 2, CO en O 2 and how can the energy efficiency of this step be optimised? Novel innovative concepts are required. Are non-equilibrium processes also effective in the chemical post-processing step considering CO produced is ro-vibrationally excited? How is the overall energy efficiency optimised? This may be different from the optimisation of individual parts of the process, for example by optimising energy efficiency against particle conversion efficiency. Regarding the overall CO 2 neutral fuels generating system: Analyse and evaluate the CO 2 neutral fuel production system on cost and energy efficiency. Consider large-scale concentrated production against small-scale distributed generation (for example, table top H 2 production). How do CO 2 neutral fuels compare with alternative renewables? Pilot-scale facility at DIFFER At DIFFER, a pilot-scale plasma activation facility is being developed (~100 kw) based on a supersonic expanding microwave plasma. The first objective of this facility is to demonstrate CO 2 plasma dissociation at high energy efficiency. Preliminary results show energy efficiencies for CO 2 conversion in excess of 50% obtained at 3kW RF power (915MHz) where ~10% of the CO 2 is converted in CO. Next step is the separation of the exit CO gas stream and demonstration of H 2 production (Eq. 1) and/or methane (CH 4 ) production by means of the Fischer-Tropsch process. This DIFFER pilot-scale facility is open to collaboration with university groups and research Institutes in the Netherlands and abroad. Research proposals are submitted by a consortium on the basis of joint programming that provides complementary expertise, diagnostics and facilities. The approach to address the research questions posed above could include: A method to create atmospheric plasma and supersonic stream conditions such that translational temperature is low (<100 K). A method to identify and minimise energy loss processes. Innovative diagnostics to probe the local electric field and gas density/temperature, to measure the electron energy distribution function and the vibrational excitation distribution function. Diagnostics for control, safety and protection of the machine. This includes the control of plasma instability at high pressure, the control and optimisation of the electron energy distribution function and the control and safe handling of CO produced. A method to efficiently and safely separate CO from the CO 2, CO and O 2 effluent gas stream. Application of synergistic catalytic processes in the CO 2 plasma activation process. System analysis of the entire processing chain on energy efficiency and cost.

7 Pagina 6 / Summary of requested research topics The central theme within the STW-Alliander call is research into energy-efficient plasma activation of CO 2. Research proposals should contain multidisciplinary research into the alternative use of CO 2 by means of plasma activation. An overall system analysis has to be part of the research proposal. The research proposed can be realised in close connection with research that addresses other aspects of the chain of CO 2 reuse such as: - Research into new innovative ways of CO 2 capture and reuse. - Research into new innovative ways of the use of a CO 2 containing (plasma activated) gas stream to convert it to a carbon containing fuel. - Research into new innovative ways to separate (plasma activated) CO 2 gas streams that contain CO, O 2 and carbon containing fuels. - Research into new innovative ways of direct fuel production from CO 2 containing gas stream that have CO 2 as the main carbon source for the carbon containing fuel or from materials which contain CO 2 as an important carbon source in the liquid or solid phase. The full scientific programme description of the call is given in the separate document Appendix 6: Programme description. 4. Collaboration with industry Applicants are encouraged to cooperate with industrial partners who can act as a user of the technology to be developed. Cash and/or in-kind support is welcomed, but not obligatory for project costs below 500,000 euros. If the total project costs (necessary financial resources plus in-kind contributions) exceed 500,000 euros, co-funding by users is mandatory. It amounts to 25% of the sum in excess of 500,000 euros. However if applicants cooperate with Alliander no extra co-funding by Alliander is required. Letters of support letters from the participating companies, including Alliander, are obligatory. For details see 8.5 and Appendix 1. The full programme description of the research theme plasma conversion of CO 2 is given in the separate Appendix 6: STW-Alliander programme description. Utilisation STW-funded research generates valuable knowledge. In addition to excellent science, STW aims to promote the application of knowledge. The term used by STW to refer to the set of activities aimed at maximising the possibility of research results being applied by third parties is utilisation. In order to promote utilisation in addition to scientific quality, STW sets up a user committee for every project. STW expects applicants to actively collaborate towards promoting utilisation and towards STW s objective of transferring knowledge to users. Users, user committees and intellectual property play a crucial role in utilisation. 1. Users Users of research are defined as natural persons or legal persons (at national or inter-national level) who are able to apply the results of the research. A distinction is sometimes drawn between direct users, usually companies, and end users. In that case, it is not sufficient to designate end users only. It is STW s explicit intention that potential technology users and end users outside the immediate circle and outside the research field of the researchers submitting the proposal should be involved in the project from beginning to end. Users should be able to apply the knowledge generated by the

8 Pagina 7 / 36 research in the medium to long term. (Potential) users should be indicated in the utilisation section of the research proposal. 2. User committees To promote the effective transfer of knowledge generated by the research to users, STW sets up a user committee for every research project in consultation with the project leader. User committee meetings are attended by the applicants/co-applicants, project/subproject leaders, the researchers temporarily appointed to the project and the representatives of potential users. The project leader acts as chairman and STW runs the secretariat. A minimum of four users should sit on the user committee and at least 50% of them should be from industry. STW may change the composition of the user committee in the course of a research project, if there are grounds to do so. The committee can advise the project leader on the direction the research should take in order to promote the application of the results. The project leader always holds ultimate responsibility for the realisation of the research in accordance with the approved project plan. The instructions for participants in a user committee are included in the Task and Method of Working of STW User Committees (see: The members of the user committee are formally invited by STW to sit on the user committee. Those participating in the user committee commit themselves to the conditions included in the Task and Method of Working of STW User Committees (for example with respect to confidentiality of the information and how to deal with the results from the project). 3. Programme Committee For this programme a Programme Committee (PC) will be established, consisting of at least 4 persons to be appointed by STW. A representative of Alliander is entitled to participate in the PC. The PC shall be responsible for the overall direction, continuation and management of the programme. The PC shall meet at least once a year. The PC may decide to merge into the Programme Committee of the overarching NWO programme on CO 2 neutral fuels. 4. Reporting The project leader reports on the progress of the project twice a year, in writing, and the user committee then meets to discuss the progress made. As an exception to be decided by STW the user committee may meet less frequently. Utilisation of the research results is always on the meeting agenda. It covers collaboration with (potential) users and the protection and commercialisation of the knowledge generated. The results of the project are confidential until STW decides otherwise, or until STW has given permission for publication. A publication is the disclosure of results by any means, such as a text (including publications, abstracts, announcements on a website), illustration or an image or sound carrier, with the exception of disclosure resulting from a patent or patent application. The members of the user committee are the first to be given access to the research results, i.e. before publication. STW submits draft publications to the user committee asking whether, in their opinion, the publication contains a patentable discovery and/or whether there are utilisation opportunities. If knowledge protection measures are required, such as the submission of a patent application, STW may decide to suspend the publication for up to 9 months.

9 Pagina 8 / Intellectual Property Policy (IP policy) The STW IP Policy applies to Plasma Conversion of CO 2. The main principles of STW s IP policy: Ownership Ownership of the results of research funded by Technology Foundation STW belongs jointly to STW and the research institute(s) where the research is funded. Protection of research results, confidentiality and publications STW attaches considerable importance to knowledge protection in order to realise knowledge transfer. Users admitted to the user committee, either at the start or during the course of the research, undertake to maintain confidentiality with regard to the research results. The researcher is obliged to report any inventions to STW immediately. STW submits draft publications to the user committee asking whether, in their opinion, the publication contains a patentable discovery and/or whether there are utilisation opportunities. If knowledge protection measures are required, such as the submission of a patent application, STW may decide to suspend the publication for up to 9 months. Members of the user committee are the first to receive information about the results of the research. Membership of the user committee or a contribution to the research does not automatically entitle the user to apply or commercialise the results. Option rights and licensing Users who, in STW s opinion, contribute substantially to the funding of the project are entitled to an option during the course of the project. STW does not regard a contribution of less than 10% of the total funding (necessary financial resources plus contributions in kind) allocated to the project as substantial. The right to use/application is acquired through a licence, transfer or know-how agreement. This may be a second agreement, after an option agreement, but both option and licence may be laid down in a single agreement. A contribution of 50% by a single company entitles them automatically to non-exclusive use of the IP to be generated. For exclusive use of the results, a market rate compensation will be agreed to in a supplemental agreement. In any case, a licence agreement or transfer agreement contains agreements about: (non-)exclusivity royalty-free research and education licence reimbursement in line with market prices anti-freezer clause or best endeavours obligation concerning application or commercialisation reporting obligations indemnity/liability Special arrangement for the STW-Alliander programme: Applicants may formulate a research proposal together with Alliander. The cooperation with Alliander has to be confirmed in a letter of support by Alliander. For research projects supported by Alliander that are granted funding Alliander will receive an exclusive option for commercial use of the project results.

10 Pagina 9 / 36 Assessment procedure 1. Deadline for submission of applications and processing period Research proposals may be submitted between 10 September 2013 and (deadline) 3 December h (noon). Research proposals received after the deadline will not be accepted. The assessment procedure will be conducted by STW and the awarded projects will be under STW management. If the application satisfies the formal requirements and submission criteria, STW shall take the research proposal into consideration. The aim is to achieve a processing period of 5 months (for the global timeframe, see Appendix 5). In the event that a very large number of proposals is submitted and preselection is required, the processing period may increase. 2. Formal requirements STW confirms receipt of the research proposal. It then verifies the formal requirements to determine whether the research proposal is eligible for consideration. If the relevant conditions (see section on Guidelines for applicants ) are not fulfilled or the information requested is incomplete, the research proposal will not be considered. In that case, STW returns the research proposal to the main applicant with a request to provide adjustments or additional information within 10 working days. Additional submission criteria are: Proposals should fit within the theme of the call. The central theme of the research proposal must be the plasma conversion step. Collaboration between research groups from different disciplines is mandatory. This collaboration can be between research groups from different faculties at the same university or between research groups from different universities. There should be at least one co-applicant with a different disciplinary background as the main applicant. In each project a system analysis will be required that covers the entire process chain, which includes innovative solutions for CO 2 capture and CO/O 2 separation. Collaboration with industry is mandatory. All evidentiary documents requested along with the project proposal must be sent in at the same time with the submission. If identical or very similar research proposals are or will be submitted to other calls or granting bodies, this must be mentioned in the proposal. Only those proposals that satisfy the formal requirements and the additional submission criteria, possibly after changes within the set deadline of 10 working days, will be admitted to the rest of the procedure. The main applicant will be informed approximately 15 working days after the project registration as to whether the research proposal will be taken into consideration. 3. Pre-advise and cooperation Applicants are encouraged to contact professor M.C.M. van de Sanden of DIFFER with their research idea well before they submit their application to STW. Professor Van de Sanden will advise the applicants about the fit of the research idea in the call. For contact details see Further information. Applicants who want to cooperate with DIFFER for use of the pilot-scale facility should also contact professor Van de Sanden. Applicants who want to cooperate with Alliander should contact Dr. H. van Breen MBE of Alliander. For his contact details see Further information.

11 Pagina 10 / Pre-selection If at least four times as many proposals are submitted as can be financed, STW reserves the right to conduct a preselection. The preselection is conducted in order not to burden the referees and assessment committee. Assuming an available budget of approximately 2 million euros and a maximum contribution of 750,000 euros per project, a maximum of 4 to 5 proposals might be funded. Preselection takes place by an assessment committee that evaluates proposals on their scientific quality and utilisation perspective, as well as their suitability within the call. 5. Assessment by referees Proposals that were assessed during the preselection procedure as being of sufficient quality, or all proposals if no preselection took place, will be submitted to approximately three (inter)national experts in the relevant specialist area. These referees are drawn from the scientific world, large research institutes, and industry. Referees remain anonymous. They assess the proposal on the basis of specific questions about scientific quality, utilisation perspective and fit with the themes of the call (see Appendix 4). STW recommends that applicants anticipate the questions submitted to referees in the research proposal. STW does not use a non-referee list, which allows certain referees to be excluded in advance. However, the applicant(s) may ask STW to exclude up to two people or organisations from acting as referees. STW will grant this request only if the provision of information from the research proposal to that referee might obstruct the utilisation. STW combines the individual referees comments, anonymised and if necessary paraphrased, into a basis for a protocol. Although not obligatory, it is appreciated if applicants upload the contact details of 5 potential independent reviewers for the research proposal via the Iris system. This may also be done via a separate appendix submitted as a PDF file. The suggestions for reviewers should not be part of the research proposal. 6. Applicants rebuttal STW sends the basis for a protocol to the main applicant with a request to respond to the referees comments. The main applicant responds to each question or comment individually. The combined referees comments including the responses from the applicant(s) form the protocol used by jury members in arriving at their assessment. 7. Jury procedure For the evaluation of the research proposals STW will put together an independent multidisciplinary expert jury consisting of 5 to 6 members. The members are highly educated and experienced people with an affinity for the theme of the programme. The jury members will be mainly drawn from Dutch and foreign universities and large research institutes. The research proposals and associated protocol are sent to the jury members. Each jury member assigns three numbers to each proposal that carry equal weighting for the prioritisation of the proposals: one for scientific quality, one for utilisation (perspective) and one for the fit with the themes of the call (see Appendix 4). The jury members will individually send their numbers to STW. Based on the average numbers for each research proposal a ranking will be made by STW. Proposals are considered for financing only if they score no higher than 4.0 for the "utilisation" and "scientific quality" assessment criteria, whereby the sum of these numbers may not be higher than 7.0. You will find an explanation of the meaning of the quality numbers in Appendix 4.

12 Pagina 11 / Decision making The final decision on awarding of the research proposal is taken by the STW Board. The Board will take into consideration only the projects that are considered for financing as defined above. The Board largely bases its allocation decisions on the prioritisation of the research proposals. The order established by the jury ranking is the starting point for this. A secondary consideration is the budget available for the call. The Board does not assess the scientific content of the research proposals. The Board may attach additional conditions to an award. These conditions may relate to matters such as intellectual property, co-funding by (potential) users, major investments and/or special infrastructure facilities. Detailed information on the jury procedure for both jury members and applicant(s) is given in the Guidelines for jury members ( 9. STW/NWO Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest STW asks active researchers from research institutes and specialists from other knowledge-intensive organisations to participate in assessment procedures. These people are themselves involved in ongoing or new research and often belong to large organisational associations and research networks. Therefore, any conflict of interests, or anything that remotely resembles this, must be avoided in the assessment of research proposals. To ensure a fair assessment and transparency for applicants, STW uses a code of conduct on conflicts of interest that is in line with the NWO Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest. This code identifies possible forms of conflicts of interest and indicates the steps to be taken to avoid conflicts of interest. Parties subject to the code of conduct are: referees, jury members, committee members, members of decision-making bodies and STW officers. The full text of the code of conduct on conflicts of interest used by STW is available at: After award (see also the General Funding Conditions at Proposals awarded funding will be included in the management organisation of STW. Project leaders and staff must state STW as the financer in all output related to their project (such as publications and presentations). All projects will be treated equally. This means, for example, that the rules concerning intellectual property will be the same for all projects. The intellectual property rules and General Funding Conditions of STW apply to the projects awarded funding. The main applicant becomes the project leader. In the case of large projects, it is necessary to appoint separate sub-project leaders. If the proposal is successful, each research institute involved receives an award letter with appendices. This sets out the legal and financial conditions of funding and should be signed individually for approval by each research institute. The credits for materials, travel and investments are initially allocated for up to two years. The personnel credit per post is initially allocated for up to three years. STW reserves any remaining funds for the continuation after two years. Start and starting date of the project The credits allocated do not become available until after the necessary documents have been signed and received by STW and all relevant award conditions have been fulfilled. If the latter is not yet the case, for example due to continuing negotiations about intellectual property, written permission to start the project can be requested from STW. Without such written permission, potential financial risks are borne by the applicant(s). The starting

13 Pagina 12 / 36 date of the project is the date on which an initial expenditure of allocated funds is undertaken. This is generally not the date of award. It usually relates to the appointment of the first staff member at the project s expense. Continuation In the case of projects with a term of three years or more, the user committee advises STW on the continuation of the project based on progress made. On that basis, STW decides on the allocation of the credits reserved at the time of award. Extension An extension after the end of a project is possible only in very limited cases. The prospects in terms of utilisation are crucial in this respect. From the utilisation perspective, funds remaining on the project can be used to extend one staff position (1 fte) for a period of up to three months. If the extension requires an increase in the budget, cofunding by (one of the) users is a prerequisite. This co-funding is subject to the same criteria as co-funding on submission of a research proposal. The NWO contribution is inclusive of the funds remaining on the project and is subject to an upper limit of 50% of the total costs for the extension of the project. Termination and termination date The termination date of a project is the date on which the last temporary appointment is terminated. The project leader then receives two final forms from STW to round off the project in terms of both content and funding. Unallocated credits cease to be valid after the end of the project. The summaries requested in the final form are used for the purpose of publication in STW s utilisation report. STW publishes an annual utilisation report giving progress updates 5 and 10 years after the start of a project. Discontinuation STW may discontinue a project before the official termination date if the obligations and/or funding conditions are not or are no longer fulfilled, or if the scientific quality of the research and/or utilisation of the results of the research are inadequate.

14 Pagina 13 / 36 Further information Contacts The STW contact for this call will be: Technology Foundation STW Dr L.J. (Leo) Korstanje Phone l.korstanje{at}stw.nl internet The FOM-DIFFER contact for this call will be: DIFFER Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research Prof. M.C.M. (Richard) van de Sanden Phone m.c.m.vandesanden{at}differ.nl internet The Alliander contact for this call will be: Alliander Dr H. (Harry) van Breen Phone harry.van.breen{at}alliander.com internet

15 Pagina 14 / 36 Links STW s General Funding Conditions: The basic principles of STW s Intellectual Property Policy (IP policy): Task and Method of Working of User Committees: Questions to referees/aspects for assessment: Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest: Fixed rates in salary tables: Payment of thesis printing costs: Standard amounts for foreign accommodation expenses: Standard amounts for capitalisation of co-funding of personnel costs: Iris: How Iris works: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO):

16 Pagina 15 / 36 Guidelines for applicants As a division for the Technical Sciences (TW), STW is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO; see also As such, STW provides indirect government funding. STW funds costs of personnel temporarily appointed to the project at the research institute and project-specific costs of materials, travel and/or equipment. The research institute is responsible for co-funding from direct government funding and hence for the necessary infrastructure and the supervision of project workers. If an applicant/co-applicant cooperates with other institutes not eligible for STW funding, such as TNO or a foreign university, the non-eligible institutes are responsible for their own costs. If the total project costs exceed 500,000 euros, users are required to make a contribution to the project costs (cofunding), namely 25% of the sum in excess of 500,000 euros. The maximum STW contribution is 750,000 euros. In projects of an investment nature (> 250,000 euros in equipment), the maximum STW contribution is 1 million euros. 1. Main and co-applicants On approval of the project, the main applicant becomes the project leader and bears ultimate responsibility for the realisation of the research including the utilisation plan. Co-applicants must play an active role (associate supervisor and/or daily supervision of researchers appointed to the project) in the realisation of the project and may be designated as sub-project leaders in the event of several participating research institutes. 2. Who can act as main and co-applicants? Assistant, associate and full professors with a tenured position at: o Dutch universities (or with comparable positions at the university medical centres) o KNAW and NWO-institutes o the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) o the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen o Dubble beamline at the ESFR in Grenoble o NLB Naturalis Researchers with a tenure track appointment. STW defines a tenure track appointment as an appointment for experienced scientific researchers with prospects of permanent employment and a professorship in due course. The tenure track appointment must be confirmed in writing and funded from structural resources. STW will verify that the appointment meets these conditions and that it is guaranteed for the term of the project. 3. Main and co-applicants with a part-time appointment Main applicants and co-applicants employed on a part-time basis should in any case have access to sufficient university facilities and budget to carry out the project properly. Main applicants and co-applicants should carry out STW research while they are working for the research institute. If this is not the case, the other employer should sign a waiver so as to guarantee knowledge ownership by STW and the research institute(s). 4. Who cannot apply? Personnel with a zero-hour appointment Personnel with a temporary employment contract (e.g. postdocs) Emeritus professors Personnel of institutes with an applied or technological objective, such as TNO, the Large Technological Institutes (GTIs) and the non-university part of the Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR) Personnel of a research institute funded by a public-private targeted grant Personnel of foreign research institutes

17 Pagina 16 / Drawing up and submitting the research proposal Research proposals should be submitted electronically via Iris, STW s electronic grant application system. To submit research applications and for the Iris manual, visit For a research proposal it is obligatory to use the STW-Alliander application template. An application consists of two parts: 1. a factsheet containing the key details of both the applicant(s) and the application (including name and address details, title of the research and a summary in English); 2. the application form containing the other information requested. When you submit the factsheet electronically, you also append the completed application form in PDF format (see manual on How Iris works). Other accompanying appendices should be sent separately in PDF format (without protection). The factsheet together with appendices is regarded as the research proposal. Although not obligatory it is appreciated if applicants upload the contact details of 5 potential independent reviewers for the research proposal via the Iris system. This may also be done via a separate appendix submitted as a PDF file. The suggestions for reviewers should not be part of the research proposal. Only research proposals that are submitted electronically will be considered. 6. Format The proposal should not exceed twelve pages in A4 format (minimum Arial 10 point or similar font), excluding references and appendices. If there is more than one participating research institute, the limit is fifteen pages. The application should be in English. In Section 4.1 of the application form, additional sub-chapters may be added. The information entered should be complete and correct. Incomplete forms or forms that exceed the maximum permitted length may lead to your application not being considered.

18 Pagina 17 / 36 Notes relating to the application form 1.1 Contact details main applicant The name and address of the main applicant are given on the factsheet (Dutch name). State the additional information, including English name of the organisation/division of the organisation, percentage of full-time appointment and confirmation of permanent employment. 1.2 Contact details co-applicant(s) State the name and address of the co-applicants, giving both the Dutch and English names. Also state the additional information, including % of full-time appointment and confirmation of permanent employment. 1.3 Title State the title of the project and an abbreviated title, if any. 1.4 Keywords State the specific keywords for the research and specialist area, including popular scientific terms. 2. Summaries Summaries should be clear to non-specialists, such as jury members. Jury members will base their verdict primarily on the opinion of the experts as laid down in the protocol, summaries and utilisation section. It is therefore vital that these sections are worded clearly and concisely, so as to be convincing to jury members. In addition, these sections may be used by STW for publication purposes; the confidentiality of the data will be taken into account at all times. 2.1 Research summary On a half page of A4, describe the research question, the research and the anticipated results. 2.2 Utilisation summary On a half page of A4, describe the utilisation. State what the jury needs to know about utilisation, the approach taken to it and the likelihood of it being achieved. 2.3 Summary STW s website Add a general summary in English for STW s website (10 lines with a number of keywords; be aware of risks with respect to intellectual property). 3. Current composition of the research group State the composition of the team which will realise the research and the distribution of tasks and responsibilities. If more than one research institute is participating in a project, indicate the intended sub-project leaders in addition to the project leader. If more than one research institute and/or research group is involved in the project then also indicate which of the co-applicants per research institute and/or research group is the research leader and who is responsible for supervising the researchers. In the case of a part-time appointment of a (co-)applicant which is less than 0.4 fte, the proposal should indicate which of the permanent staff is responsible for the day- to-day supervision of the project workers. The project leader is responsible in all cases for coordination and communication between the participating institutes/research groups/ researchers.

19 Pagina 18 / Scientific description This section should contain sufficient information to enable an expert reviewer to assess the quality of the research proposal. 4.1 Research contents/introduction Describe the underlying scientific basis and the content of the project. Indicate the methods and techniques to be used to tackle the problem, the knowledge already available, what has still to be developed and the instruments or models to be used to that end. It is not sufficient to state only the scientific question. 4.2 Fit into the programme Explicitly describe, in half a page, how the proposal fits into the programme and its research topics as described in this Call for Proposals 4.3 Existing infrastructure Specify the research institute(s)/department(s)/ research group(s) where the research will physically take place. This information is used to determine whether the research can be realised at the research institute(s) mentioned. The available infrastructure includes furnished laboratory space and necessary equipment. 4.4 Time plan and division of tasks Describe the proposed research planning over the years. For each line of research, indicate the phasing and give a clear description of the step-by-step plan (subsidiary aims and/or ultimate aims) and the intended results. If different lines of research are dependent on each other, indicate this. A schematic representation of the research planning is compulsory. The overall duration of the research plan may not exceed six years. 5. Utilisation plan The utilisation plan must be clear to people without specific prior knowledge. Give sufficient details to enable referees and jury members to assess at what point any potential application outside science may be possible. 5.1 The problem and the proposed solution Describe the problem that you propose to solve and indicate for whom it is a problem. Indicate the social and economic consequences while the problem remains unresolved. Describe how the intended research results contribute towards solving the problem. Indicate how long after the start of the research it will be before the intended research results lead to an entirely new method or new product, process or service. Describe the market for this. This relates to nonscientific applications. STW regards the development of open- source software code not as utilisation but as publication. It may, however, benefit utilisation in certain cases. The utilisation plan should indicate how the promotion of utilisation can be achieved. Indicate whether the research results can be incorporated into standards or norms. If so, describe. 5.2 Potential users State the contact details (name of organisation/company and person to contact, address, telephone number, e- mail address) of companies and institutes wishing to participate in the user committee. Indicate the step-by-step plan you intend to use to ensure that the results of the research are effectively applied by users. If third parties are necessary in the course of the project, it is important that they have pledged their cooperation. Also state whether users have already undertaken to accept an invitation to join the user committee or to cooperate in another way. If users have pledged a contribution to the project, give a brief description here. The co-funding with respect to the budget is substantiated below in point 8.5.

20 Pagina 19 / 36 Notes Users of research are defined as natural or legal persons (at national or international level) who are able to apply the results of the research. A distinction is sometimes drawn between direct users of the know-ledge generated, usually companies, and end users, who buy the products from those companies. Both have a role to play in the innovation chain and must be referred to in the utilisation plan. After the research proposal has been awarded, a minimum of four users should sit on the user committee and at least 50% of the users should be from industry. STW may allow an exception to this rule, for example if one user makes a very significant contribution to the proposed project (see STW s General Funding Conditions at Research proposals from a medical faculty or university medical centre should have potential users, just like other proposals. At least one of the users should be a company. It is not sufficient in this case to state merely the patient or a clinic. The final composition of the user committee is subject to the same conditions as other OTP projects. 5.3 Past performance Indicate whether the research team has achieved successful utilisation in the past. Indicate whether scientific results have been commercially utilised. Indicate whether the applications were achieved in an STW context or otherwise. 6. Intellectual property State all information relevant to the research proposal in relation to STW s IP policy. Providing the requested information is com pulsory. Notes STW should be aware in advance of any obstacles to the free use or exploitation of results. If it emerges that there are any obstacles to the implementation of STW s IP policy, STW will impose additional conditions. If it emerges during the course of the project that the project leader has omitted to notify such relevant information, STW may suspend the project until the obstacles have been removed. STW may request access to contracts and/or patents in this respect. Contracts must not conflict with STW s IP policy. If it emerges that STW cannot have free access to the results of the STW research, STW may decide not to award or to discontinue the project. 6.1 Contracts State whether there are any existing contracts (including material transfer agreements, licences, cooperation agreements) with third parties in relation to the subject of the research. 6.2 Patents Give a summary of patents held and/or patent applications made by intended parties to the project in the field of the research proposal. Indicate whether the patents and/or patent applications are in the name of the research institute(s) involved or in the name of third parties. If the research institutes involved have relevant patents, indicate whether agreements have been reached in this respect with third parties. Indicate whether there are any patents and/or patent applications which obstruct the utilisation of the intended research results. If such an obstacle exists, explain whether there is still sufficient likelihood of protecting the intended research results by means of a patent. If the patenting of research results is not expedient, explain why not. 7. Positioning of the project proposal Describe the extent to which the research proposal differs from ongoing research initiatives. Consider both the national and the international context. Also state the relevant collaborations with other national or international research groups.