Clean energy strategy
In 2016 the Commission presented a comprehensive research, innovation and competitiveness strategy, which supports the objectives of the energy union.
This strategy is outlined in the Accelerating Clean Energy Innovation Communication adopted as part of the Clean energy for all Europeans package, where research and innovation is recognised as a driver for the three overarching goals
- energy efficiency first
- Europe as a global leader in renewables
- a fair deal for consumers
The Communication includes 20 measures focusing on what the EU can do to correct the market failure by regulations to give policy signals and mobilise private investment. It also shows how the EU can set the direction with European public funding.
The research and innovation actions of this strategy are supported by two specific initiatives
European Green Deal and Horizon Europe
Clean energy will be critical to reach climate objectives as part of the European Green Deal.
The full range of instruments available under the EU's next research and innovation programme - Horizon Europe - will also support the research and innovation efforts needed to achieve climate neutrality.
Energy innovation will play a key role in delivering on the Horizon Europe Mission area climate-neutral and smart cities.
REPowerEU
REPowerEU is our plan for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy. Research and innovation activities are contributing to accelerating the clean energy transition for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy by 2030, in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal.
Currently, only half of the technologies necessary to achieve full decarbonisation are ready for the market. Research and innovation activities will support new and existing technology solutions to become market-ready, in particular for green hydrogen and solar energy.
The Commission will top-up Horizon Europe investments in the Hydrogen Joint Undertaking to double the number of Hydrogen Valleys by 2025 and will support skills through ERASMUS+ and the Joint Undertaking on Clean Hydrogen, with the launch of a large project to develop skills for the hydrogen economy.
The Commission will also develop and implement strategic research and innovation agendas with EU countries on Green Hydrogen and Solar energy technology and secure funding in Horizon Europe among others.
Bioenergy can contribute significantly to the REPowerEU goals by ensuring security of energy supply and reducing dependency on fossil fuels imports. For example, biomethane is named a priority for the diversification of EU gas supplies by increasing domestic biomethane production to 35 billion cubic meters per year by 2030.
The EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities will play a crucial role in realising energy savings in buildings.
- Repowering the EU with Hydrogen Valleys
- REPowerEU package
- Info Pack on Innovative biomethane for REPowerEU
- Innovative Biomethane for REPowerEU – A Cordis Info Pack - YouTube
EU-Catalyst Partnership
The EU-Catalyst Partnership brings together the Commission, the European Investment Bank and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. It was launched in November 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Bill Gates, the Founder of Breakthrough Energy, together with European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer.
EU funding for the EU-Catalyst Partnership comes from Horizon Europe and the Innovation Fund managed under InvestEU. The partnership will mobilise up to €820 million ($1 billion) between 2022-2027 to accelerate the deployment and rapidly commercialise innovative low-carbon technologies that will help deliver on the European Green Deal ambitions and the EU's 2030 climate targets. Each euro of public funds is expected to leverage 3 euro of private funds.
The European Investment Bank, as implementing partner of the European Commission under InvestEU, has been tasked to deploy for the benefit of this partnership up to €420 million from EU funding, made available from both Horizon Europe, which has already committed €200 million, and the Innovation Fund which has committed €220 million.
Project areas and funded projects
Investments will be directed towards a portfolio of EU-based projects with high potential, in 5 sectors:
- clean hydrogen
- sustainable aviation fuels
- direct air capture
- long-duration energy storage
- decarbonisation of industry (steel and cement)
The initiative of the EU-Catalyst Partnership complements the multiple actions already launched in the framework of the European Green Deal and National Recovery and Resilience Plans financed by NextGenerationEU as well as the Net Zero Industry Act and REPowerEU.
European projects interested in benefiting from support can apply through the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst website.
The first 2 projects to be financed by EU-Catalyst Partnership are:
FlagshipONE project - Ørsted
Located in Sweden and managed by Danish energy company Ørsted, the FlagshipONE project is a first-of-a-kind e-methanol production aiming to provide renewable fuel for the shipping industry. The plant will use captured CO2 and renewable hydrogen to produce ~55,000 tons of e-methanol annually, making it Europe’s largest integrated e-methanol production facility.
Ottana CO2 Battery Project – Energy Dome
Headquartered in Milan, Energy Dome has developed a long-duration energy storage technology based on liquified CO2 The CO2 battery can provide storage for up to 10 hoursor longer, more competitively than lithium-ion batteries. With the support of the EU-Catalyst partnership, this project will build its first-of-a-kind, full-scale demonstration CO2 battery energy storage facility in Sardinia
More information on sectors related to the partnership
In July 2020, the Commission adopted the Hydrogen Strategy with the aim of decarbonising its production and to expand its use to store, transport and accelerate the use of renewable energy, as well as replacing fossil fuels in specific sectors, aiming to substantially increase electrolyser capacity by 2030. Investments in production capacity are estimated at €180-470 billion in the EU until 2050 at least, ‘renewables' producing up to 10 million tonnes of clean hydrogen.
The strategy identifies as a clear priority the production of renewable hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen produced through electrolysis using renewable electricity, while remaining open to new or breakthrough technologies for producing renewable hydrogen. In this context, a top priority is to demonstrate larger size, more efficient and cost-effective electrolysers, with capacities reaching 100 MW and above.
The necessary coordination, along the value chain with the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, and on data and knowledge with the observatory and database set up under the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, is foreseen.
Aviation is the second highest transport sector after road vehicles, and the fastest growing. Reducing aviation emissions is challenging, considering the long operational life of aircraft and the fact that zero-emission aircraft configurations and powertrain options for commercial air transport are far from technological and commercial maturity. Sustainable aviation fuels can significantly reduce aviation reliance on fossil fuels, while relying on existing infrastructure and propulsion systems, but the transition will require significant investments.
While several sustainable aviation fuels production pathways are certified, their use in the fuel mix is still negligible (less than 0.1%) due to high production costs. The price of the most innovative and sustainable types of fuels is estimated at up to 3 to 6 times the price of fossil aviation fuels depending on the production pathway, while their lifecycle emissions savings are 85% or more compared to fossil fuels.
As part of the Fit for 55 package, the Commission has therefore proposed the ReFuelEU Aviation initiative to boost the supply and use of sustainable aviation fuels in the EU. The action will support the development of the most innovative sustainable aviation fuels notably advanced biofuels and Renewable Fuels of Non Biological Origin in line with the ReFuelEU Aviation and Renewable Energy Directive sustainability framework.
At any moment in time, electricity consumption and generation have to be perfectly matched. This balance is necessary not only in the short term for power grid stabilisation (for which short duration storage solutions exist), but also over the long term, by compensating for weekly fluctuations, for meteorological dark and still periods that can last a few weeks, and for seasonal variations between summer and winter.
Long duration renewable energy storage needs – weekly to seasonal – will expand as both the electrification of demand and the share of renewable energy sources in the total supply mix will grow. Sustainable long duration energy storage therefore has a key role to play in the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy.
Sustainable storage solutions for renewable energy, involving an energy vector that can be used for other purposes than regenerating electricity are also eligible. The topic is open to all technologies: chemical (including hydrogen and its derivatives), electrochemical, thermal and mechanical technologies (other than pumped hydro which is mature and available commercially).
Commission scenarios reaching net-zero emission by 2050 show extensive use of carbon dioxide removal, including direct air capture of CO₂ (a new technology that removes carbon directly from the atmosphere, which differs from carbon capture and storage in that it does not have to be placed directly at the source of emissions) .
Most IPCC scenarios modelling 1.5°C paths also include a share of carbon dioxide removal. Direct air capture offers promise as a new technology to help meet this ambitious goal, but several challenges remain for a large-scale deployment.
The future operational and financial viability shall also be investigated in function of the fate of the captured CO₂ (i.e. underground storage or use), renewable energy source used for the capture process, and vicinity to CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure (in case of underground storage).
The International Energy Agency estimates current direct air capture costs to be within a wide range of $100-$1000 per captured tonne of CO₂. Stakeholders claim that costs can be reduced to €50-€100 by 2030 with sufficient investments in research and innovation and deployment.
Rapid innovation is needed to bring to market clean technologies for those parts of the energy system where emissions are harder to address, in particular carbon intensive industries (e.g. steel, cement, chemicals, aluminium, ceramics).
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) will play an important role in mitigating those hard-to-abate process emissions. In March 2023 the European Commission introduced the Net Zero Industry Act, which identifies CCUS as a strategic net zero technology for which scaling up of manufacturing capacity is critical to reaching the EU’s climate goals.
Specifically, the Act proposes to set an EU-wide goal to achieve an annual CO2 injection capacity of 50 Mt by 2030, with oil and gas producers asked to contribute, in addition to setting clear timelines for permitting CCUS projects. While CCUS technologies have been demonstrated in various settings and on certain scales, it is still a challenge to scale up these technologies for widespread use, understand their performance and requirements and develop the best models for their deployment.
This is due to factors such as energy efficiency, cost of capture technologies, and the technical feasibility of transporting and storing large volumes of CO2.
Related links
The EU's research and innovation funding programme 2021-2027
Europe will become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Research and innovation are driving this transformation.