The world community, and not least Europe, is confronted with converging crises, economic, environmental, employment and social. Energy – its availability at acceptable economic and environmental cost, and with the prospect of sustainability – is a key factor in confronting these crises. Given these circumstances, four leading European scientific organisations are committed to a synergetic engagement to evaluate and promote European research and technology competence in the energy field. Fundamental research of course must be structured for application, so that through engineering practice it can fulfil the requirements of society. The first European Energy Conference will not be an isolated event; it launches an ongoing forum of Communication and cooperation promoting energy-related research.