Issues: Setting the frame

Europe’s commitment to significant reductions in CO2 emissions by 2020 requires concerted action to accelerate deployment of sustainable energy technologies while improving competitiveness of the technologies which can deliver on this time horizon. Research infrastructures (RIs) close to realisation, or existing RIs with possible upgrades, are needed to support industrialisation and deployment. With deep emission reductions required by 2050 changes to the energy system made till 2020 need to prepare for and be compatible with the major changes required by 2050. RIs with focus on system aspects are needed to help guide this.

To meet the 2050 emission objectives, minimising the price to society and strengthening European competitiveness, multiple paths of innovation are optimal: Existing technologies must undergo continued development and radically new concepts and approaches, with high risk and high gain, must be explored. This requires RIs supporting fundamental as well as targeted research, RIs that support the scientific process of challenging existing understanding and providing new insight. This requires flexibility in the RI and great access to extracting observations. Later RIs demonstrating and challenging specific concepts are required.

The innovation chain runs through the open exploration, via targeted development, over demonstration to industrialisation. The RIs supporting the early phase are typically optimised for flexibility and rich in observables. Those supporting the later phases are typically optimised towards a specific implementation and embracing industrial optimisation. These RIs are as a consequence generally less flexible and with less access for detailed observations.

Innovation is not a linear process: challenges will be found in the latter part of the innovation chain which raise fundamental questions needing address by research and investigation in the more flexible RIs supporting the earlier stages. The most efficient and most rapid development needs the support from multiple RIs optimised to the different stages rather than one demonstration facility with accommodations to act as a RI.

Europewould profit from using optimally the RIs already available in member state programmes. Here is valuable to map what is available, give wider access and coordinate networked RIs. Some would need updating to be optimal in a wider context. EERA is performing such mapping and networking in its joint programmes. RI with costs and risks not compatible with member state programmes could be considered as Pan European RIs. ESFRI has just formulated such needs and EERA is continuing to build on this and supporting proposed RIs.

For optimal development and exploitation, the RIs need to be conceived as part of a strategic research agenda and integrated in the road maps and work plans delivering on the agenda. EERA, the Technology Platforms and Industrial Initiatives all have essential roles in ensuring this.

By launching the Strategic Energy Technology Plan the European Union has put its Energy Research activities clearly in the scope of its Energy and Climate Change policy. This policy is led by the  three well known drivers of improving competitiveness of the European Industry, reducing the impact of the energy system on the environment and enhancing Europe’s security of supply. This has been translated in the 20-20-20 targets for 2020 and the longer term aim to create a ‘greenhouse gas neutral’ energy system in Europe by 2050. Europe’s Energy R&D policy should form the ‘technology pillar’ of this policy. That is what the SET-Plan is about.

Putting R&D so clearly in the support of a policy goal has of course its effects. First of all, the Commission has indicated that almost a tripling of public and private resources towards energy R&D will be needed during the coming decade. A second consequence of the SET Plan is a shift from basic research to more demonstration and real-life learning activities. A third consequence is more focus: the SET Plan has indicated 7 areas of research (Wind, Solar, Grids, Cities, Biomass, Carbon Capture and Storage and Advanced Nuclear) as focus areas. This improved focus has also an impact on the way the Commission is organizing its financial research support (it becomes even more program-based) and it asked the Member States to do the same. As a consequence the larger research groups within Europe has already started to organize themselves in the European Energy Research Alliance. This means a shift to more critical mass in research.

For a small and complicated country as Belgium these shifts at the European level (larger, more focus, program-based, more critical mass) mean quite a challenge. The starting point to inscribe in these trends at the European level is not that good. A positive point is that much energy research takes place and often at a high level. In their respective domains institutes like KUL and VITO (Smart Grids and Energy Policy), IMEC (solar cells) and SCK-CEN (nuclear) are well recognized, also internationally. Also much interesting work is done in different university groups. However, that is where the positive stops. All this research is very much scattered, with no common critical mass. This means that Belgium cannot put forward a energy research partner with the critical mass needed to play on the European level. Also there is a lack of public R&D money that is organized in programs. The philosophy of the governments (there are about 6 of them in Belgium) has traditionally been that the government should not make choices, but leave choices to the market. This is in contrast to the focus and program-based approach that is now appearing at the European level. Belgium doesn’t seem ready yet to set priorities, so that it can see with which other Member States it can line up to inscribe themselves in the European Programs.

The last two year serious steps have been taken in Belgium to line up with the European developments. One of them is that, at the Flemish level,  VITO, KUL and IMEC have decided to bundle their forces in a new energy research collaboration called EnergyVille. A physical place for this is being built in the eastern part of the region (Limburg). Discussion are going on to see how this all can be linked to an initiative to support new green technology industries in the Greenbridge industrial site in Oostende (in the western part of the region). The choice for Smart Cities made by EnergyVille lines up with the overall policy decision of the Flemish government to focus on Green Urban Areas as one of the policy priorities. Also in the Walloon region actors have decided to collaborate more on energy research, and use the already existing Alliance Wallonie for this. Actors in the whole country are now seriously discussing the establishment of a Belgian Energy Research Alliance. Furthermore, in preparation for the discussions on FP8 many Belgian research actors (universities and research centers) have discussed the right balance between bottom-up research and programmed research. The Walloon Region has launched the “plan Marechal”, with clear focuses e.g. on solar energy and buildings. Flanders has just finished a strategic study to see where priorities in energy research should be set. This has, however, not yet resulted in a more program-oriented financing structure for energy research. But this might change in the future.

From the above it is clear that the launching of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan, of course together with all the joint programming initiatives, has had already a strong impact on Belgian research policy discussions and the research infrastructure in the energy field.