About
Established in 2016, the working group on sustainable and efficient energy use in industry aims to help energy-intensive industries become less dependent on energy, resources and emissions, while enhancing their competitiveness.
It builds on EU and national initiatives to step up cooperation among EU-wide research and innovation (R&I) sectors to:
- continue improving the performance and cost effectiveness of industry
- increase the wider use of renewables and alternative energy sources.
Industrial competitiveness is an important component in the context of the EU’s energy and climate objectives, and the challenge posed by growing competitive pressures from emerging economies.
The European Green Deal emphasises that the transition to a more sustainable EU economy needs to safeguard the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries. These industries are recognised in the Green Deal as ‘indispensable’ to the EU’s economy.
The energy efficiency of EU industry is a key driving factor in the energy transition in Europe. It is addressed by four relevant pieces of EU legislation:
- Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)
- EED 2018 amendment
- EU Emission Trading System (ETS)
- Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
The working group addresses specific industrial sectors such as iron and steel, and chemicals. Since 2020 it has also included cement and pulp and paper, as well as cross-cutting aspects such as heat and cold management, and system integration.
| Sector specific thematic groups | Cross-cutting thematic groups |
|---|---|
| Iron and steel | Heat and cold |
| Chemicals | System integration |
| Cement | |
| Pulp and paper |
The working group plays a key role in defining the necessary measures to meet the energy efficiency targets set by the European Commission for energy-intensive industries by 2030 and 2050.
The working group is engaged in several activities:
- designing a common on R&I strategy by identifying areas of interest for specific R&I activities in the working group's Implementation Plan
- revising, updating and monitoring the implementation plan
- developing R&I activities to be financed either through national or EU support
- identifying potential funding sources for R&I activities at national and EU level
- monitoring the progress of ongoing R&I projects at national and European level
bringing together stakeholders and working group countries through meetings and networking events to discuss and share experiences on: technical challenges and projects; and common non-technical barriers to project implementation and funding, and then developing ideas on how to overcome such obstacles.
Targets and objectives
In 2021, the working group revised its Implementation Plan to align its targets and activities with recent R&I developments and policy changes, such as the European Green Deal. The revision was coordinated by DG ENER, with assistance from the SET Plan Implementation Working Group (IWG) 6 Secretariat. The implementation plan draws on the expertise of industry stakeholders to set out priority R&I activities and collectively agreed targets.
The new targets cover the years up to 2025, 2030 and 2050. In the revised Implementation Plan, each sectoral thematic group (cement, chemicals, iron and steel, and pulp and paper) presents their sector-level ambitions, which the SET Plan Action 6 R&I priorities aim to contribute to. Additionally, targets corresponding to each R&I priority activity area for all Thematic Groups are presented, including cross-cutting targets covering heating & cooling, and systems.
Member States and non-EU SET Plan countries will play a key role alongside the European Commission in collaborating with industry to facilitate the deployment and market penetration of emerging technologies. By gathering information from industry leaders, the revised Implementation Plan intends to support national governments in Action 6 areas in the following ways:
- creating a shared understanding of R&I challenges and opportunities
- providing an overview of priority areas to focus R&I efforts on energy-intensive industries
- identifying priority activities where funding should be targeted and facilitating road-mapping by the European Commission and SET Plan countries
- enabling national governments to make informed policy decisions that further increase support to these areas.
Composition
The group is chaired by Finland, supported by a stakeholder co-chair – A.SPIRE, and thematic group leaders. It includes 15 other European countries, industrial stakeholders from relevant sectors, and research institutions.
Participating SET Plan countries (in alphabetical order):
- Austria
- Belgium
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Finland (Chair)
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Norway (Associated Country)
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Türkiye (Associated Country)
Stakeholders:
- A.SPIRE
- The European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU)
- CO2 Value Europe
- CCS Association (CCSA)
- The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI)
- The European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)
- COGEN Europe
- Delft University of Technology
- Knowledge Centre on Organic Rankine Cycle (KCORC)
- Euroheat & Power
- European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE)
- European Energy Research Alliance (EERA)
- EU Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC)
- EUTurbines
- ETN
- European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)
- European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSO-G)
- European University Association (EUA)
- The European Steel Association (EUROFER)
- European Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP)
- Forest-based Technology Platform (FTP)
- Hydrogen Europe
- The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU)
Documents
Database on financial instruments
This database gives an overview of the various financing programmes available across the EU, Member States and members of SET Plan working group. It is not designed to be comprehensive or all-encompassing and should serve as a starting point for research on various sources of funding.
Outcomes of the 2019 networking event
The event focused on cooperation and finance to make European industry less dependent on energy, resources and emissions, while enhancing their competitiveness. The event addressed the sectors of steel production, chemicals, heat and cold technologies, and system integration.
