The world is constantly evolving, and innovation and research are the basics of this process. In this regard, new standards are continually developed and published, while existing standards are revised to keep pace with technological progress. It is therefore essential to strengthen the links between standardisation and research and innovation communities.
The main advantage comes from the fact that standards associated with research and innovation activities facilitate the early identification of emerging technologies, where standardisation can play a vital role in their dissemination, ensuring their timely inclusion in regulatory activities. Furthermore, pursuing ideas based on research and innovation for the development of new standards can facilitate market acceptance of innovative products, while also increasing their relevance and guaranteeing their safety.
Standardisation also has a fundamental impact on industry, ensuring compatibility and interoperability with existing technologies and processes.
For all these reasons, the European Commission has strongly supported the valorisation of research results through standardisation. On 1 March 2023, the European Commission published a Code of Conduct on standardisation that is fully aligned with the ambitions of CEN and CENELEC to become the natural standardisation partners for researchers and innovators in Europe. Accordingly, in view of the numerous European Union policy initiatives requiring greater links between research and standardisation, CEI has adhered to these directives regarding active participation in the field of standardisation and innovation through strategic consultancy, in order to achieve an integrated approach between research, innovation and standardisation and to promote the role of standards in supporting technology transfer.
CEN and CENELEC have long launched an Innovation Plan aimed at strengthening the relationship with research and innovation through the STAIR (BT task force), which has three strategic objectives
CEI, therefore, as a standardisation body, aims to act as a link between the world of standardisation and the world of academia and research at both national and international levels, participating in proposals from STAIR, EURAMET, Horizon, EISMEA, which enable the European Union to collaborate with public and private partners to help accelerate new solutions for the green and digital transitions, and to strengthen Europe’s resilience.
The aim of CEI’s activities regarding Funded Projects is to bridge the gap between standardisation and research through:
The approach used is:
For further information, contact the Technical Officers:
Simone Germani: simone.germani@ceinorme.it
Giuseppina Polino: giuseppina.polino@ceinorme.it
INCREASE (effectIve advaNCements towaRds uptakE of PV integrAted in buildingS & infrastructure)
The first funded project, launched in October 2023, in which CEI played an active role in innovation and standardisation activities is the INCREASE Project (effectIve advaNCements towaRds uptakE of PV integrAted in buildingS & infrastructure), which refers to the HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-01 call and has reached its first year of activity relating to integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) The project partners are not only engaged in the production of solar panels with high performance, reliability and tailored functionality for seamless integration into buildings and infrastructure, but are also evaluating new materials and simulations based on AI-assisted scenarios to estimate the energy yield of a IPV system. INCREASE is among the projects aiming to achieve the ambitious decarbonisation targets of the EU. CEI has taken part in various dissemination activities within the INCREASE project, having the opportunity to connect with manufacturers/technologists in order to better address standardisation activities to the needs of these two essential categories in the BIPV context.
CLC-SDPP
In 2024, CEI, in collaboration with DIN, DKE and AFNOR-CEF, participated in the EISMEA Call 2023: ‘SMP-STAND-2023-ESOS-02-IBA Standards’ concerning the Digital Product Passport, launching the project “Support to CLC Standardisation of Digital Product Passport” (CLC-SDPP), whose main objective is the development of technical standards for the Digital Product Passport (DPP), in line with European regulations such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and the Batteries Regulation. This project is crucial for addressing the challenges related to digitisation and simplifying the management of product information within the European Union, promoting environmental sustainability and the circular economy.
The project is strategic because it directly supports the objectives of the European Union in terms of environmental sustainability and product circularity. It contributes to the creation of a more resilient, transparent European market that complies with environmental regulations, while facilitating the transition towards a circular economy. Moreover, the DPP will allow greater traceability of products, improving resource management and reducing waste.
CEI – Italian Electrotechnical Committee plays a fundamental role in the project, actively participating in the development of technical standards through its long-standing experience in electrotechnical and electronic standardisation. CEI coordinates national experts and participates in relevant technical committees at European level (CENELEC), contributing to the definition of guidelines for the implementation of the DPP. Additionally, CEI is responsible for disseminating the project results through its communication channels, ensuring wide circulation of information among national and European stakeholders.
ReGo ETSI
A third project will start in January 2025 and will see CEI involved in the consortium formed by AFNOR, NQIS/ELOT, NSAI, LVS Romania ASRO and ITS together with ETSI. The consortium participated in the call SMP-STAND-2024-ESOS-01-IBA TOPIC 26 , with ReGo ETSI whose general objectives are to increase: the percentage of harmonised European standards adopted and standardisation products, increasing the number of national experts participating in national commenting and voting processes to improve the quality of harmonised European standards and standardisation products, encouraging diversity among national stakeholders involved in standardisation processes to achieve broader consensus and promoting awareness among national stakeholders about standardisation processes and how they can contribute to European policy decisions that affect standardisation processes. All these objectives support not only the NSBs themselves, but also ETSI in its role as a European Standards Organisation. They also contribute to the proper functioning of the European standardisation system.
ACCHARGE
In April 2025 is started the project ACCHARGE (EISMEA call SMP-STAND-2024-ESOS-03-IBA) focused on the implementation of article 14, points 2 and 3 (regarding accessibility) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFIR ). These articles requires measures to ensure that publicly accessible recharging points are accessible to older persons, persons with reduced mobility and persons with disabilities in accordance with the accessibility requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/882.
The project will work on the drafting of a new EN on the requirements and recommendations to ensure the accessibility of recharging stations for electric road vehicles.
Readability platform(s) for access to standards
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that four specific Harmonized Standards (hENs) must be made publicly accessible under Regulation 1049/2001, recognizing their legal effect through the presumption of conformity—an essential mechanism enabling free movement of goods and services in the EU. The ruling implies that other standardization deliverables with similar legal relevance may also be subject to public access. This Project started in April 2024 promoted by CEN and CENELEC ( EISMEA Call SMP-STAND-2024-ESOS-02-IBA-2) is based on the development of a technical solution—national readability platforms—that extract and present essential content while respecting copyright and intellectual property rights. Although the project does not make full documents publicly available, it aims to balance transparency and accessibility with the sustainability of the European standardization system, reinforcing its role in supporting SMEs and EU competitiveness.