Support to the SET Plan community

Expected Outcome:

In 2015, the launch of the Energy Union saw the SET Plan (Strategic Energy Technology Plan) incorporated as the Energy Union’s fifth pillar on ‘Research, Innovation and Competitiveness’. With the 2023 Communication on the revision of the SET Plan, its strategic objectives were harmonised with the European Green Deal, REPowerEU and the Green Deal Industrial Plan. Moreover, the SET Plan became a structural policy under the European Research Area. In 2024, the SET Plan was enshrined in the Net Zero Industry Act and the SET Plan Steering Group was established as a high-level expert group.

Depending on the sector, European Technology and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs), and/or SET Plan Implementation Working Groups (IWGs) and/or similar stakeholder fora support the development and implementation of the SET Plan priorities by bringing together relevant stakeholders in key areas from industry, research organisations and, where applicable, SET Plan countries’ government representatives.

It is crucial for the clean energy transition that the SET Plan stakeholder fora align and coordinate their activities.

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

• European climate and energy policies are supported by science-based evidence.
• The implementation of the SET Plan and its contribution to the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the Net Zero Industry Act and the European Research Area are facilitated.
• The SET Plan stakeholder fora are recognised as key players in the clean energy transition.
• The societal and economic effects of the clean energy transition are addressed through the consideration of interests, needs and concerns of end users and actors across the value chain of the respective technology sectors.

Scope:

The projects are expected to support ETIPs and/or IWGs and/or stakeholder fora in one of the sectors listed below, taking into consideration the specific needs of the sector they address, the emerging European policy priorities, and the coordination with other initiatives (to avoid overlaps).

The proposals are expected to address one of the following sectors: geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy, photovoltaics, renewable fuels and bioenergy, solar thermal energy, renewable heating and cooling, direct solar fuels, wind energy, energy efficiency in buildings, sustainable and efficient energy use in industry, direct current technologies, carbon capture storage and use, hydrogen, and energy systems.

In line with the Recovery Plan for Europe and the latest EU climate and energy related policies (notably the National Energy and Climate Plans), stakeholder fora are expected to develop research and innovation roadmaps and/or analyses (e.g., strategic research and innovation agendas, strategic reports, industrial strategies, analyses of market opportunities and funding needs, studies on innovation barriers, assessments of their sectors’ contribution to the European competitiveness and strategic autonomy). Special attention should be given, as appropriate, to the key challenges of the European Green Deal, the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the Net Zero Industry Act, including (but not limited to) energy security, technological pushback, industrial production and competitiveness, supply chain security and dependencies, access to market, circularity, advanced materials, digitalisation, societal transformation, skills, and just transition. Moreover, as appropriate, the projects are expected to address the contribution to the goals of the European Research Area in the field of energy, in particular the achievement of the 3% GDP target of public and private spending on research and innovation.

The stakeholder fora should ensure the participation of industrial players (including SMEs), research and civil society organisations, universities and European associations representing relevant sectors (as applicable) across several SET Plan countries, establishing links with national authorities. To maximise impact, the projects are encouraged to develop and implement robust outreach approaches to widen participation from across the EU and associated countries. As appropriate, societal needs and interests should be considered in the activities of the fora, so that inequalities and employment issues are addressed. Where applicable, the stakeholder fora should establish synergies with relevant Horizon Europe European Partnerships.

The projects are encouraged to implement dissemination and networking activities with other relevant projects (e.g., joint workshops, thematic conferences, webinar series, regular exchanges, etc.).

Relevant outputs of the projects will feed into the SET Plan information system (SETIS), the annual SET Plan progress report and the Commission’s Clean Energy Technology Observatory. As appropriate, the projects should provide data and analysis tracking the progress of the different technologies towards the EU targets, for instance those set out by the Net Zero Industry Act (e.g., the implementation of non-price criteria), the Critical Raw Materials Act, and the Renewable Energy Directive (e.g., the target for innovative renewable energy technologies to represent at least 5 % of newly installed renewable energy capacity by 2030). Data should be accessible and reusable according to the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Reusable, Interoperable). The projects are expected to contribute to the reporting of the SET Plan to the European Parliament and the Council.

The projects should prepare new (or update existing) finance and sustainability plans for future continuation of the stakeholder fora without EU funding.

If relevant, this topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

The indicative project duration is two years.