In the context of increasing environmental concerns, innovation in the field of energy technologies represents a central bottleneck. This rapidly growing market is already the scene of fierce international competition. Energy research therefore represents a multiple challenge for Europe: The technologies developed should help reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time limiting our dependencies. In addition, the innovation produced should help positioning industrial Europe as a frontrunner in the globally competitive energy technology market. Thanks to the highly complementary national research landscapes, the Franco-German energy research cooperation has particularly high potential. Bilateral research programs are a promising tool for promoting untapped synergies. By addressing bilateral Franco-German partnerships on specific issues, bilateral programs complete the European funding tools. The Inter Carnot Fraunhofer (PICF) program is a mature example of such a program. Thanks to harmonized procedures, mutually beneficial cooperation projects in the energy sector could be realized. The PICF investigation also shows, however, that bilateral funding programs must include the possibility of follow-up funding in order to maintain the cooperation and bring it to completion. In the context of energy research, demonstration projects should also be included in the target group of the bilateral funding programs. Calls for proposals should be thematically limited based on the recommendations of an independent scientific body. Franco-German endeavors could then serve as a model of how intra-European synergies can be transformed into groundbreaking innovation.