What is the SET Plan?
The (SET) Plan aims to achieve the EU’s energy and climate goals and make Europe a global leader in clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.
The plan does this by:
helping to coordinate national research and innovation (R&I) activities in developing low-carbon energy among EU Member States and 4 associated countries (Norway, Iceland, Turkey and Switzerland)
aligning national R&I programmes with its agenda.
It is becoming more crucial that public and private investments are channelled towards the technologies needed for the energy transition. The SET Plan steps up cooperation between governments, industry and research institutes to leverage the use of R&I funding schemes for clean energy.
Since 2020, the European Commission has published yearly progress reports on Competitiveness of Clean Energy Technologies that present the current and projected state of play for different clean and low-carbon energy technologies and solutions. They also map the research, innovation and competitiveness aspects of the EU’s clean energy system as a whole, with the final scope of informing policy decisions and help make the EU competitive, resource-efficient, resilient, independent, and climate-neutral by 2050.
The 2022 Competitiveness Progress Report highlights how the SET Plan and the National Energy and Climate Plans are key elements to strengthen the dialogue on clean energy R&I and competitiveness between the EU and its Member States.
A more in-depth analysis is also available in the Clean Energy Technology Observatory 2022 report on “Overall Strategic Analysis of Clean Energy Technology in the European Union”.
The R&I community has been asked to cooperate so as to ensure:
- the design of a successful R&I innovation ecosystem, supporting solutions needed to achieve the climate and energy targets
- the upscaling of clean energy technologies and solutions
- that there is rapid and efficient uptake in the market, helped by innovative regulatory and financial schemes.