M-ERA.NET 2 aims at coordinating the research efforts of the participating EU Member States, Associated States and Regions as well as of selected global partners in materials research and innovation, including materials for low carbon energy technologies and related production technologies. A large network of 43 national and regional funding organisations from 23 EU Members States and Associated States and 5 countries outside Europe will implement joint calls to fund excellent innovative transnational RTD cooperation, including one call for proposals with EU co-funding and additional non-cofunded calls. Continuing the activities started under the predecessor project M-ERA.NET (2/2012-1/2016), the M-ERA.NET 2 consortium will support relevant thematic areas, such as -for example- surfaces, coatings, composites, additive manufacturing or computational materials engineering. Research on materials enabling low carbon energy technologies will be particularly highlighted as a main target of the cofunded call (Call 2016) with a view to implementing relevant parts of the Materials Roadmap Enabling Low Carbon Energy Technologies (SEC(2011)1609), and relevant objectives of the SET-Plan (COM (2009)519). The appropriate scope of the cofunded call and the additional joint calls will be defined in cooperation with relevant stakeholders including national and regional RTD communities, the EC and the EMIRI (Energy Materials Industrial Research Initiative) as well as an external Strategic Experts Group. M-ERA.NET 2 will support the whole innovation chain, clarifying for each topic the appropriate Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to be addressed through the transnational RTD projects. The consortium will be aware of the TRLs which are covered by the EC through Horizon 2020 topics as well as by other schemes. Gaps will be identified and M-ERA.NET 2 will aim at offering a complementary support scheme.