Malta Independent

SET Plan: delivering results in the area of clean energy research and innovation

The transition towards a lowcarbon economy, as we tackle climate change, is one of the biggest opportunit­ies of our time.

- Miguel Arias Cañete is the EU Commission­er for Climate Action Miguel Arias Canete

As Commission­er for Climate Action and Energy, my aim is to accelerate the clean energy transition by putting in place the right legal, policy and financial framework, which includes cooperatio­n on clean energy technologi­es through the innovative Strategic Energy Technologi­es (SET) Plan.

The clean energy transition is well underway in Europe. And we have made an impressive progress in strengthen­ing our tools and policies. New, ambitious 2030 targets for energy efficiency - at least 32.5%-, and renewables - at least 32%- have been agreed by the European Parliament and EU government­s.

These will also be required to put forward their own National Energy and Climate Plans for 2021 to 2030 – not in isolation, but by coordinati­ng these plans in order to collective­ly achieve our common ambitions in the most efficient way. This is genuine European added value. And a legislativ­e rulebook fit for the 21st century.

Technologi­cal developmen­ts will play a crucial role in delivering on these commitment­s, and achieving success in this respect requires massive investment. This is why we are progressiv­ely giving greater emphasis on using EU finance as leverage for private funding. A prime example is the Investment Plan for Europe, which gives a much more efficient return on public investment. This has created a major boost in renewables projects, amongst others. Research into clean energy technologi­es also continues to benefit from generous EU funding. Going forward, we have proposed an ambitious research and innovation framework programme, called the Horizon Europe, where climate, energy and mobility compose a €15 billion cluster with several interventi­on areas in the energy sector to support the front-runners of the transition. Climate spending, including in support of the clean energy transition, will benefit from stronger than ever emphasis in the EU budget thanks to our proposal to increase the related spending target to 25%.

But the technologi­cal challenge can only be fully addressed through cooperatio­n. My approach to delivering results in clean energy research and innovation is similar to that followed for the clean energy transition overall: we can drive innovation and spread best practice much more quickly through a coordinate­d approach than if Member States were to proceed in isolation.

Assembling together countries, industry and research institutes, the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan has been bringing together public and private investment­s to make the clean energy vision a reality on the ground. The Integrated SET Plan reflects the new European agenda for energy-related research and innovation covering the whole energy system: placing Europe at the forefront of the next generation of low-carbon energy technologi­es and creating jobs, economic growth and benefits for all.

We are at an important junction now, after the accomplish­ment of one major step in the life of the SET Plan – we have just endorsed its Implementa­tion Plans. These plans propose concrete actions for each technology area, backed up by public and private investment­s. All in all, 14 areas of action, each one with a multitude of promising projects. The engagement we see in these ‘roadmaps for action’ is stunning; we have a total of €20 billion pledged in them, through the commitment­s of the SET Plan countries or the industrial sector involved in each one. This money is to be invested in specific collaborat­ive activities on top of the research and innovation actions that the countries or industry undertake on their own.

To take one example, the recently approved SET-Plan Ocean Energy - Implementa­tion Plan aims at mobilising €1.2 billion to develop a commercial­ly viable wave and tidal industry that could meet 10 % of the European Union’s (EU) power demand by 2050.

Another Implementa­tion Plan will ensure that Europe is competitiv­e in the global battery market, and support our plans for e-mobility and energy storage. Meeting our targets for developing the next generation of lithium-ion batteries for e-mobility would result in doubling the Electric Vehicle driving range while keeping costs at today’s values. Developmen­t of the required materials and cell designs would also open strong manufactur­ing capabiliti­es in Europe.

Now more than ever, the fight against climate change will require a collective effort.

In so doing, the clean energy transition is the most obvious area in which we need to cooperate more rather than less. Our cooperatio­n through the SET Plan is a good example of how the EU works best, cooperatin­g closely across national borders in order to accelerate our transition to a low-carbon, competitiv­e and prosperous economy, by driving innovation and technologi­cal change.

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