LEAP-RE (Long-Term Joint European Union-African Union Research and Innovation Partnership on Renewable Energy) is a Horizon 2020 project funded by the European Union.

It aims to create a long-term partnership between African and European actors in the field of renewable energy. Within 5 years, LEAP-RE will support collaborative research and innovation projects as well as develop renewable energy innovations directly as part of the project. LEAP-RE draws on the expertise from 83 organisations from both continents and all sectors: government, research and academia, private sector and civil society. Together, they will share knowledge and methods to effectively contribute to the fight against climate change by enabling access to clean energy for all.

LEAP-RE will strengthen local research through Europe-Africa cooperation, fostering the conditions to transform research into effective innovation. The activities undertaken by LEAP-RE will be adapted to the specific needs of society, recognising regional discrepancies in terms of funding, structures and social and environmental challenges.

Specifically, the project will test a business model to allow citizens to exchange energy produced from renewables through the mediation of a retailer. This is mediated by an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure. The UNITO research unit (coordinated by the Department of Culture, Politics and Society (CPS) as well as Cognetti de Martis and the Law School) will be in charge of defining stakeholder and public engagement strategies, defining the new functionalities to be integrated in the App that supports the model implementation, and preparing guidelines for the assessment of the territories in view of the model implementation.