Energy Technologies and Innovation

On 3 May 2013, the European Commission published a Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Energy Technologies and Innovation.

In order to achieve all of the EU 2020 objectives regarding energy, climate, economic and social policy, the EU needs to bring new, high-performance low-cost, low-carbon sustainable energy technologies to the market. This requires a strong and dynamic technology and innovation strategy, reinforcing the role of technology and innovation within energy policy, and supporting European industrial competitiveness by reducing costs and speeding up the introduction of new sustainable technologies to the market.

The European Commission addresses key principles and challenges that are crucial for implementing the energy technology and innovation strategy. The SET Plan remains the core instrument to deliver on the challenges because it refers to EU, national, regional and private investments in energy research and innovation. However, improvements such as the development of an Integrated Roadmap, an Action Plan supporting the Roadmap, a reporting system based on the Strategic Energy Technologies Information System (SETIS) of the SET Plan, as well as the establishment of a coordination structure under the Steering Group of the SET Plan should be created in order to respond to the new challenges and to better consolidate research and innovation capacity across Europe.