Speech by Commissioner Simson at the 15th Strategic Energy Technology Plan Conference

"Check against delivery"

Thank you Mr Frankl,

Dear Minister Vrtovec, Minister Kustec, colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

A warm welcome to the SET Plan community on this 15th edition of the SET Plan conference.

A special thanks and congratulations to the Slovenian Presidency of the Council for the organisation of this year's conference.

The other side of 2050 will be a new world. Our aim is to be the first climate neutral continent. And so, we will need new technologies to match.

Today, I want to briefly touch upon three things that will get us where we want to get through research and innovation. They are Purpose, Investment and Collaboration.

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First, on Purpose.

To reach climate neutrality by 2050 and a reduction of at least 55% of emissions already within the next decade, we need purpose. We need drive and we need to focus our efforts on clean energy research and innovation in the years and decades to come.

During the summer, we adopted the first part of the Fit for 55 Package, including a revision of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Directives. In December comes the second part, including a hydrogen and gas decarbonisation package, a new regulation on methane emissions, and the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

All of this takes place with the backdrop of a recent sharp spike in energy prices.

A risk to vulnerable consumers, businesses and our energy security alike.

And the role of research and innovation is essential to strengthen resilience against future shocks in the longer term.

If you want to hear about specifics, the success stories in the EU, we have them. The overall cost of a number of clean energy technologies has dramatically reduced over the past years. For instance:

• costs for electricity from utility-scale solar photovoltaics fell 85% between 2010 and 2020.
• And costs from Lithium-ion battery packs for electric vehicles have fallen by 89% in the last decade.

This is the direction we want to go in. It supports our overall purpose in the clean energy transition. We just need to accelerate even faster.

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Second, I want to mention Investment.

Innovation is the main driver of the EU's sustainable economic growth and our best bet to ensure our competitive and resilient sustainability.

But investment is a crucial ingredient. One, which we too often lack.

They are the beginning of an innovation domino effect:

• The energy transition will depend on our ability to mobilise large-scale investments.
• With the investment in hand, we can translate EU research performance into innovation.
• This innovation has the potential to evolve into new products and services.
• And the end result is a boost in competitiveness and leadership of the EU clean energy sector.

Our yearly Progressive Report on the Competitiveness of Clean Energy Technologies shows that, despite difficulties, we are not starting from scratch. It also shows that the Clean Energy sector is one of our main assets.

The EU remains at the forefront of clean energy research. We have brilliant minds in Europe. And those minds have a strong focus on greening our planet: At global level, the EU has a greater share of 'green' technologies in all inventions, and continues to host a quarter of the top 100 companies in 'green' high-value patents over the last 5 years.

We are ahead of the pack when it comes to high-value inventions in renewables and energy efficiency.

But again, coming back to investment, we need the right funding to get the best ideas from the drawing board to reality. EU Public R&I still remains lower than a decade ago, and lower than other major economies as a percentage of GDP.

Our competitiveness progress report also shows that Europe is investing a larger share of Venture Capital in energy solutions compared to the US and China, mostly in the development of core technologies for renewable energy generation and energy storage. However, EU-based Climate Tech start-ups still trail their global counterparts in their ability to scale.

For example, wind industry, where nearly half of the companies active in the sector are headquartered in the EU and about a fourth of all global facilities are located in the EU.

Our report also shows that global competition is getting tougher and we need to go further, especially in investment, to remain competitive.

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Third, and finally, I want to talk about Cooperation. After all, it's what gathers each of you here today.

As you all know, it is fundamental for a successful innovation ecosystem.

We can accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy solutions only through effective collaboration.

In the last years, these synergies have been turned into concrete projects and outcomes with the SET Plan.

Already under Horizon 2020, the cooperation in working groups have crystallised into several ERA-net projects addressing solar photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, ocean energy, as well as smart cities and smart grids.

In these co-funded projects, several Member States and Associated Countries contribute national funding topped up by EU funding. They jointly launch calls for proposal and manage projects together.

This is a remarkable example of concrete joint R&I support and cross-dissemination among the SET Plan Countries. Joint actions are continuing and expanding under Horizon Europe with the launch soon of the co-funded Clean Energy Technologies partnership.

Another clear example is the development of two important multi-billion euro Projects of Common European Interest on battery innovation, the first coordinated by France and the second by Germany.

They involve 12 EU countries and companies and research organisations along the whole value chain. This involves €6.1 billion of public funding by participating member states, which is expected to unlock an additional €14 billion in private investments.

Last year we started together a journey to better align the SET Plan to the European Green Deal through the input papers on energy system integration, offshore wind and the renovation wave, prepared by the SET Plan community.

We need to continue along these lines, making sure that the link between research and energy policies is enhanced.

Meanwhile, the new multiannual financial framework programme, with the recovery and resilience facility, Horizon Europe and Next Generation EU, together with the Innovation Fund, provide unprecedented support to boost R&I actions and accelerate the deployment of clean energy solutions.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

We know that almost half of the CO2 emissions reductions that are needed by 2050 will come from technologies that are not yet on the market.

Three main aspects that will get us there is a strong purpose, increased investment and even greater collaboration.

And on that final aspect, what better tool than the SET Plan?

We share a common objective: creating a cleaner, safer, more secure and more competitive energy landscape for future generations, using the best of what science can offer.

During this conference, let's take stock of our achievements. But let's also look at the ambitious targets ahead of us and reflect on what we can do even better in the SET Plan.

Thank you for your attention.

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