UK plc could benefit from EC plans for green tech development

The blueprint advanced by the EC is based on the European Union (EU) taking a more co-ordinated and complementary approach to the development of low carbon technology and making best use of public and private sector funding – both at national and EU level.

The policy would require an additional €50 billion (£46 billion) to be invested in green technologies over the next 10 years – a level of investment the EC says is necessary if European countries are to address climate change, secure their energy supplies and ensure the competitiveness of their economies. 

The Commission says the additional investment – which would mean almost tripling the annual investment in the European Union, from €3 to €8 billion (£2.7 to £7.3 billion) – is necessary to remove the “ bottlenecks in the development of low carbon technologies”.

The EC has based its calculations on ‘technology roadmaps’ which it has drawn up with the help of industry and the research community and which identify key low carbon technologies with strong potential at EU level in six areas. 

The six roadmaps – covering wind, solar, electricity grids, bioenergy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and sustainable nuclear fission – aim to present the technology objectives that are critical for making each low-carbon technology fully cost-competitive, more efficient and proven at the right scale for market roll-out.

Under the proposals, wind energy research would get €6 billion (£5.5 billion) over the next decade, nuclear research would get €7 billion (£6.4 billion), energy from biomass and other waste €9 billion (£8.2 billion) and CCS €13 billion (£11.9 billion).

The EU does not plan to stump up much of the cash itself – the bulk will have to come from the private sector and member states – but the Commission believes: “The limited resources available from the EU budget can be used to leverage a step change in the investment provided for the research and demonstration of low carbon technologies.” 

The European Investment Bank will also be involved in funding the new technology.

What the EC seems to be proposing is a new environment for investment in clean technology, rather than a new source of funds.

It’s an environment that European Commission spokesperson for energy, Ferran Tarradellas, believes UK companies could take advantage of: "Today's announcement by the Commission gives UK industry the assurance of public financial backing to invest in the development of low carbon technologies. 

“The UK companies that will benefit the most are those that are ready to grasp the opportunity offered by this new policy framework. The spirit of today's proposal is to have partnerships, sharing risks and pooling resources.”

In other words, UK companies are more likely to succeed in this area, and get the investment they need, if they have the right support – from the Government and the public, among others.

“The end result will be a cheaper way of dealing with future energy and climate threat while opening new markets bringing sustainable growth and jobs," Tarradellas added.

The proposals were put forward by the EC in a new report ‘Investing In The Development Of Low Carbon Energy Technologies’ and are part of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) – which is described as ‘the technology pillar’ of the EU's energy and climate policy.

Later this month the European Industrial Initiatives will meet as part of the second European Energy Technology Summit in Stockholm to discuss and review the technology roadmaps of the SET Plan.