The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), founded by ten leading European Research organisations in 2008, aims to strengthen and expand Europe’s capabilities in sustainable energy research by connecting and joining European energy research activities. EERA’s coordinated and streamlined efforts shall enable all to optimise energy R&D actors’ efforts and to overcome fragmentation in order to accomplish a strategic and targeted development of new energy technologies. The primary focus of the EERA is, in particular, on the strategic and targeted development of next generations of energy technologies, starting from the results from fundamental research and leading to their maturation to the point where they can be embedded in industry driven research. Such activities are performed through the establishment and the implementation of the so-called Joint Programmes (JPs) of Research, which pools and integrate activities and resources, and maximise their complementarities and synergies. EERA’s efforts take place in the context of and contribute to the targets formulated in the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan.Within this context main aim of the EERA Secretariat is to provide support to the development of the activities within EERA. The Secretariat is composed by six national research institutes which are part of the ten founding members of the EERA. All six institutes/institutions can be considered as key player in their own country and are recognised as being among the leading participants in European R&D programmes.In order to accomplish this mission the EERA Secretariat has developed a strategy aimed at tackling both internal and external aspects of EERA. In particular, the EERA Secretariat will provide support to all EERA bodies (i.e. Executive Committee and JP bodies), as well as it will liaise with SET-Plan bodies and initiatives, it will promote EERA achievements and results and it will strengthen the ties with industry and key external partners.