In a proposal on ‘Investing in the development of low-carbon energy technologies’, the commission estimates that an additional investment of EUR50 billion in energy technology research will be needed over the next 10 years.
As reported, this represents a step forward in the implementation of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan).
Janez Potocnik, EU commissioner for science and research, said: “Up-grading investment in research in clean technologies is urgent if Europe is to make the road to Copenhagen and beyond cheaper. With today’s estimates, the commission wants to make the SET Plan a springboard to leap into a low carbon economy, which is only possible if public and private actors pool resources in a coherent way.
“Increasing smart investments in research today is an opportunity to develop new sources of growth, to green our economy and to ensure the EU’s competitiveness when we come out of the crisis.”
The commission, together with industry and the research community, has drawn up technology roadmaps which identify low carbon technologies with potential at EU level in six areas: wind, solar, electricity grids, bioenergy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and sustainable nuclear fission.
The additional costs would cover basic and applied research, demonstration and early market take up, excluding deployment activities. A new initiative on energy efficiency for up to 30 cities (Smart Cities Initiative) has been proposed as first enabler for the market take–up of energy efficiency, renewables and energy network technologies.
The commission calls for a coordinated and complementary action of relevant actors.
