COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the revision of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan
Date: 2023-10-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU energy policy, clean technology, competitiveness, energy cooperation, energy production, energy research, energy technology, innovation, renewable energy

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.10.2023  COM(2023) 634 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the revision of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan  
 
 
1.  POLICY CONTEXT: THE SET PLAN ACCELERATING THE CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION 

The  EU's  Strategic  Energy  Technology  (SET)  Plan1  supports  the  development  of  clean, 
efficient and cost-competitive energy technologies through coordination and collaboration in 
clean energy research and innovation (R&I), bringing together European industry, academia 
and  governments  of  the  SET  Plan  countries2.  The  SET  Plan  has  played  a  central  role  in 
implementing the research, innovation and competitiveness dimension of the Energy Union3. 
It has had a structuring effect on joint R&I actions, helping them deliver on common energy 
research objectives with greater speed and effectiveness. 

The European Green Deal4 and the REPowerEU Plan5 set out strategic objectives for the clean 
energy  transition,  including  the  decarbonisation  of  energy-intensive  industries  and  the 
reduction of pollution. The Green Deal Industrial Plan6 provides further direction by calling 
for  a  more  autonomous  and  resilient  EU  industry,  with  the  Net-Zero  Industry  Act7  and  the 
Critical Raw Materials Act8 as its building blocks: 

−  The Critical Raw Materials Act sets the goal to ensure a secure supply of critical raw 
materials  by  developing  the  EU  value  chain  while  improving  the  circularity  and 
sustainability of critical raw materials production.  

−  The Net-Zero Industry Act aims to increase the EU’s capacity to manufacture strategic 
‘net-zero technologies’ to approach or reach a benchmark of at least 40% of the EU’s 
annual deployment needs for the corresponding technologies by 2030, and sets a target 
of 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 storage capacity by 2030.  

In addition, the revised Renewable Energy Directive9 asks Member States to set an indicative 
target for innovative renewable energy technology of at least 5% of new installed renewable 
energy capacity by 2030. Finally, the Communication on ‘A new European Research Area for 
Research and Innovation’10 and the European Research Area Policy Agenda11 call for a better 
alignment of R&I investments and reforms at national and EU level to accelerate the green and 
digital transition. 
This  new  policy  context  underlines  the  need  for  increasing  the  resilience,  autonomy  and 
competitiveness  of  the  European  energy  system  and  its  supply  chains,  using  circular  and 
human-centred solutions, within our planetary boundaries.  

1 COM(2007) 723 final of 22.11.2007, ‘A European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) 'Towards a 
low carbon future'’. 
2 Currently, all EU Member States plus IS, NO and TR. 
3 COM/2015/080 final, ‘A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate 
Change Policy’. 
4 COM(2019) 640 final of 11.12.2019. 
5 COM(2022) 230 final of 18.5.2022. 
6 COM(2023) 62 final of 1.2.2023. 
7 COM(2023) 161 final of 16.3.2023. 
8 COM(2023) 160 final of 16.3.2023. 
9 Texts adopted - Renewable Energy Directive ***I - Wednesday, 14 September 2022 (europa.eu) 
10 COM/2020/628 final of 30.09.2020. 
11 European Research Area Policy Agenda (europa.eu) 

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2.  SET PLAN PRIORITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS AND NEW DIRECTIONS 

Through its 14 implementation working groups12 (IWGs) and related European Technology 
and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs), the SET Plan activities have focused on the six priorities of 
the Research, Innovation and Competitiveness dimension of the Energy Union. This section 
takes stock of the SET Plan’s achievements and identifies new directions. 

Priority 1: Becoming world number one in renewables 

Under this priority, the SET Plan identified two actions: integrating renewable technologies 
into the energy systems (action 1) and reducing the costs of these technologies (action 2). The 
priority has been implemented through five IWGs on specific renewable energy technologies. 

The SET Plan’s work on offshore wind energy13 has provided a platform for R&I agenda-
setting and helped to liaise the SET Plan community with the IEA Technology Collaboration 
Programme on wind. In the field of solar photovoltaic (PV)14, the SET Plan helped align the 
R&I  efforts  of  the  participating  countries,  contributing  to  significant  technology  progress 
towards the world’s most efficient solar cell to date. The SET Plan has strongly shaped deep 
geothermal15 energy R&I, for example on cost reduction, through advanced drilling and well 
completion techniques. The SET Plan ocean energy16 workstream inspired the EU offshore 
renewable energy strategy17 and helped formulating guidance on setting up an insurance and 
guarantee fund for the deployment of large-scale demonstration projects. Moreover, the SET 
Plan has inspired most of the concentrated solar thermal18 topics in the EU’s for Research 
and  Innovation  programmes  Horizon  202019  and  Horizon  Europe20.  This  has  advanced  the 
technology not only for power production, but also for innovative applications such as solar 
heat for industrial processes and for renewable hydrogen production. 

The creation of the European Clean Energy Transition Partnership21 under Horizon Europe is 
an example of successful EU cross-sectoral cooperation through the SET Plan. Thanks to the 
Partnership, EUR 500 million in national funding was pooled to support jointly agreed R&I 
priorities, six times more than under Horizon 2020. This shows the SET Plan’s potential for 
leveraging public funding to support common objectives. These joint activities with Member 
States are complementary with the activities funded by the Horizon Europe programme in the 
energy domain, notably within Cluster 5 (areas of climate, energy and mobility) and Cluster 4 
(areas of industry and digital).  

The revised SET Plan will aim to enable the EU to become a global leader in the development 
of innovative renewable energy technologies and to increase the EU’s manufacturing capacity 
for clean energy technologies in line with the ambition of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, so 

12 https://setis.ec.europa.eu/implementing-actions_en  
13 IWG Wind Energy - IP.pdf (europa.eu) 
14 SET Plan TWP PV Implementation Plan (europa.eu) 
15 Implementation plan on deep geothermal energy.pdf (europa.eu) 
16 SET Plan OCEAN ENERGY Implementation plan.pdf (europa.eu) 
17 COM (2020)741, 19.11.2020 
18 Initiative for Global Leadership in Concentrated Solar Thermal Technologies (europa.eu) 
19 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-
calls/horizon-2020_en  
20 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-
calls/horizon-europe_en  
21 https://cetpartnership.eu/  

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that it doubles - in a resilient and competitive way - its current share of renewable energy to 
reach at least 42.5% by 2030, with innovative renewable energy technology representing at 
least 5% of new installed renewable energy capacity. 

Moreover, the revised SET Plan will: 

•  Extend its activities to include onshore wind energy and low (less than 125 °C) and 
medium (125-225 °C) temperature geothermal technologies, which have substantially 
developed since the SET Plan was launched but still require R&I to maintain the EU’s 
competitive advantage. 

•  Set up a new IWG on hydrogen to implement the strategic R&I agenda of the ERA pilot 
on green hydrogen22 in line with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and the Commission 
staff working document on European R&I actions to support the ‘ERA pilot on green 
hydrogen’23. 

•  Build  on  the  work  of  the  SET  Plan  IWGs  on  photovoltaics  and  concentrated  solar 
power,  to  deliver  on  a  joint  solar  energy  strategic  R&I  agenda24  encompassing 
photovoltaics, concentrated solar thermal and non-concentrated solar thermal. 

Priority 2: Delivering a smart, consumer-centric energy system  

Under this priority, the SET Plan identified two actions, one focused on new technologies and 
services for consumers (action 3) and the other on the resilience and security of energy systems 
(action  4).  The  priority  has  been  implemented  through  three  IWGs  on  energy  systems25, 
positive energy districts26 and high voltage direct current27. 

The  SET  Plan  has  helped  align  EU  and  national  R&I  priorities  on  smart  and  integrated 
energy  systems  through  the  IWG  for  energy  systems  and  the  European  Technology  and 
Innovation Platform for Smart Networks for Energy Transition (ETIP SNET). The latter has 
supported the preparation and implementation of the EU action plan on the digitalisation of the 
energy  system.  The  SET  Plan  has  developed  an  integrated  approach  to  positive  energy 
districts28 including technological, spatial, regulatory, financial, legal, environmental, social 
and  economic  perspectives.  Collaboration  between  the  Urban  Europe  Joint  Programming 
Initiative,  key  stakeholders  and  the  Commission  has  led  to  the  Driving  Urban  Transition 
Partnership being co-funded under Horizon Europe. 

22 Expert groups of the agenda process (2022), Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda, Key findings and 
conclusions of the agenda process for the European research and innovation initiative on green hydrogen, Final 
version 
(https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/downloads/files/SRIA_green_hydrogen.pdfhttps://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/
shareddocs/downloads/files/SRIA_green_hydrogen.pdf).https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/downloads/files
/SRIA_green_hydrogen.pdf 
23 Building a European Research Area for clean hydrogen - the role of EU research and innovation investments 
to deliver on the EU’s Hydrogen Strategy. SWD(2022) 15 final, 20.1.2022 
24 See EU Solar Energy Strategy COM/2022/221 final 
25 SET Plan ENERGY SYSTEMS Implementation plan.pdf (europa.eu) 
26 Positive energy districts (europa.eu) 
27https://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/SETPlan_HVDC_DC_Tech_ImplementationPlan_Final.pdf  
28 Positive energy districts (europa.eu) 

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Since  2021,  the  SET  Plan  has  been  giving  greater  importance  to  the  development  and 
demonstration of direct current (DC) technologies, starting with high voltage direct current 
technologies for high-power offshore and onshore connections. 

The revised SET Plan will accelerate the development of innovative and flexible solutions to 
optimise the existing grid, in particular demand response and energy storage, whose use will be 
supported by the proposed electricity market design reform29. These solutions will help increase 
the share of renewable electricity production30 integrated into the grid to reach at least 65% by 
2030. The SET Plan will also accelerate the development and use of innovative technologies 
providing security, stability and cyber-resilience to the energy system to help it cope with the 
increasing likelihood of climate-driven disruption and human-driven external threats. 

At  local  level,  the  new  solutions  stemming  from  the  revised  SET  Plan  will  support  cities  in 
accelerating  their  green  and  digital  transformation,  contributing  to  the  Climate-Neutral  and 
Smart Cities Mission31 objective of at least 100 climate neutral and smart cities by 2030. The 
revised SET Plan will also extend its scope to cover low and medium voltage direct  current 
(LVDC and MVDC) technologies to take advantage of LVDC microgrids in buildings, industrial 
facilities,  data  centres  and  electric  vehicle  charging  stations.  This  will  reduce  the  number  of 
(AC/DC and DC/AC) converters  and improve material and energy efficiency in  applications 
where most electrical equipment runs on direct current. 

Priority 3: Develop and strengthen energy-efficient systems 

Under  this  priority,  the  SET  Plan's  actions  focused  on  new  materials  and  technologies  for 
buildings32  (action  5)  and  energy  efficiency  for  industry33  (action  6).  The  priority  has  been 
implemented through two IWGs on energy efficiency in buildings and industry. 

The IWG on energy efficiency in buildings has carried out hundreds of regional, national, and 
EU-wide R&I projects in the building sector in recent years. The IWG’s implementation plan 
helped  to  identify  the  scope  of  the  Built4People34,  Clean  Energy  Transition35  and  Driving 
Urban Transitions36 partnerships supported by Horizon Europe. The IWG also works closely 
with the Processes4Planet Partnership37.  

To help increase energy efficiency in industry the SET Plan initially focused on two energy-
intensive  sectors  (steel  and  chemicals)  and  two  cross-cutting  areas  (system  integration,  and 
heating and cooling). The countries involved in this IWG agreed on common R&I priorities 
and  targets  with  industry  and  research  organisations,  which  were  reflected  in  the  funding 

29 COM(2023) 148 final. 
30 COM(2020) 562 final. 
31 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-
calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/climate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en  
32 https://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-02/set_plan_buildings_implementation_plan.pdf  
33 EE-in-industry_Implementation-Plan_Rev2021_Final-Endorsed.pdf (europa.eu) 
34 Built4People (ectp.org) 
35 https://cetpartnership.eu/  
36 https://dutpartnership.eu/  
37 https://www.aspire2050.eu/p4planet/about-p4planet  

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priorities set out in the Horizon Europe Cluster 5 work programmes38. The IWG also facilitated 
dialogue among steel manufacturers, contributing to the creation of the Clean Steel Partnership.  

In  2021,  SET  Plan  actors  adopted  stricter  climate  and  circularity  targets  and  included  two 
additional industrial sectors (cement, and pulp and paper) in the SET Plan activities, paving the 
way  for  greater  integration  between  industrial  sectors,  renewable  energy  generation,  and 
storage technologies. 

The revised SET Plan will develop innovative and cost-effective ways to contribute to at least 
double the annual renovation rate of buildings between 2020 and 2030 and to make all new and 
existing  buildings  zero-emission  by  2030  and  2050  respectively,  in  line  with  the  proposed 
revision  of  the  Energy  Performance  of  Buildings  Directive39.  Its  R&I  priorities  will  also  help 
reduce industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 203040 and help meet the indicative target 
of increasing renewable energy use in the industrial sector by 1.6% per year until 203041. The 
SET Plan priorities on energy efficiency will be aligned and geared towards the overall reduction 
of primary and final energy consumption42. 

The revised SET Plan will also: 

•  broaden the scope of the IWG on energy efficiency in buildings to give heat pumps more 
prominence, thereby helping expand the EU’s innovation and manufacturing capacity for 
these technologies,  of which the roll-out  must double in  the building  sector to reach  a 
cumulative 10 million units over the next 5 years. 

•  broaden  the  scope  of  the  IWG  on  energy  efficiency  in  industry  and  accelerate  the 
development,  integration,  testing,  and  validation  of  key  technologies  for  competitive, 
climate neutral and zero pollution energy-intensive industries before 2030, building on 
the ERA industrial technology roadmap for low-carbon technologies in energy-intensive 
industries and the mapping of industrial demonstrators. 

Priority 4: Diversify and strengthen energy options for sustainable transport 

Under this priority, the SET Plan's actions focused on enhancing EU competitiveness in the 
global battery sector for e-mobility and stationary storage43 (action 7) and renewable fuels and 
bioenergy44 (action 8), with IWGs on batteries and renewable fuels and bioenergy. 

The SET Plan has created Batteries Europe45, bringing together more than 700 stakeholders in 
the European batteries R&I ecosystem to develop a sustainable and competitive battery value 
chain  in  Europe.  This  paved  the  way  for  the  BATT4EU  co-programmed  partnership  under 
Horizon  Europe46.  SET  Plan  activities  have  provided  a  deeper  insight  into  the  value  chain 
approach for renewable fuels and bioenergy, which is of particular importance in this field. 

38 For instance, on industrial heat and cold management. 
39 COM(2021) 802 final. 
40 Compared to 2015 - COM(2020) 562 final. 
41 COM(2021) 557 final 
42 Directive 2023/1791 of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency and amending Regulation 2023/955 (recast) 
43 https://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-05/set_plan_batteries_implementation_plan.pdf  
44 https://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-07/setplan_bioenergy_implementationplan.pdf  
45 Batteries Europe is the technology and innovation platform part of the European Battery Alliance 
46 https://bepassociation.eu/  

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The revised SET Plan will: 

• 

facilitate  the  development  and  uptake  of  100%  renewable,  efficient,  and 
interconnected energy and transport systems to achieve the 2030 and 2050 renewable 
energy targets and the respective emission reduction targets under the EU Climate 
Law as well as under RefuelEU aviation47 and FuelEU maritime48 regulations. 
•  strengthen the European battery manufacturing value chain, including the domestic 
sourcing  of  raw  materials  and  advanced  materials  as  well  as  reusability  and 
recyclability, to achieve self-sufficiency by 2030. 
further work with Batteries Europe to support the monitoring of the batteries value 
chain. 

• 

•  address innovative storage technologies beyond electrochemical batteries. 

Priority 5: Driving ambition in carbon capture, utilisation and storage 

Under this priority, the SET Plan's action 9 focused on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and 
on carbon capture and utilisation (CCU)49. 

The  SET  Plan  has  been  highly  successful  in  mobilising more  countries  and  stakeholders  to 
work  on  CCUS.  The  resulting  knowledge  sharing  and  increased  efficiency  has  benefited 
demonstration  and  full-scale  projects,  for  example  in  the  cement  industry50.  The  results 
achieved under this action serve as a reference for the further rapid deployment of CCS and 
CCU as put forward in the Net-Zero Industry Act. 

The revised SET Plan will align targets and activities with the new energy and climate policy 
landscape, in particular the Net-Zero Industry Act and the industrial pillar of the Sustainable 
Carbon  Cycles  Communication  as  well  as  the  upcoming  EU  strategy  for  carbon  capture, 
utilisation  and  storage  (CCUS).  To  maximise  its  impact,  the  revised  SET  Plan  must  support 
coordinated public-private action aimed at developing business cases and cooperation models 
for  the  emerging  carbon  capture,  storage  or  use  value  chains  (including  the  pre-competitive 
evaluation of storage options at regional and national scale), in support for economic operation 
of at least 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 injection capacity by 2030, both in saline aquifers 
and in depleted hydrocarbon fields in the EU. 

Priority 6: Maintain and strengthen safety in the use of nuclear energy 

Under  this  priority,  the  SET  Plan's  actions  focused  on  nuclear  safety  during  operation  and 
decommissioning (action 10) with a related workstream51. 

The  SET  Plan  has  provided  a  dialogue  platform  for  Member  States  using  or  willing  to  use 
nuclear technologies in their energy mix or in other applications (for e.g. nuclear medicine52). 

47 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A52021PC0561  
48 https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/PE-26-2023-INIT/en/pdf  
49 https://setis.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-04/set_plan_ccus_implementation_plan.pdf  
50 https://www.leilac.com/project-leilac-2/  
51 https://setis.ec.europa.eu/implementing-actions/nuclear-safety_en#documents 
52 SAMIRA Action Plan (europa.eu) 

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SET Plan cooperation also led to the EERA Joint Programme on Nuclear Materials53, which 
aims  to  improve  plant  safety  and  efficiency,  as  well  as  qualification  for  advanced  nuclear 
fission and fusion systems. The SET Plan also supported ongoing and planned European co-
funded partnerships54. 

The revised SET Plan will help maintain and strengthen the safety of nuclear energy, taking also 
into account the declared ambition of 14 Member States55 (Nuclear Alliance56) to provide up to 
150  GW  of  electricity  capacity  by  2050  in  the  EU  (from  roughly  100  GW  today).  This  is 
expected to entail at least 30-45 new build large reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs). 

The revised SET Plan will put increased emphasis on the safety of SMRs, the diversification of 
the supply chain, on industrial hubs, and on fostering the development of centres of excellence, 
competencies, and the availability of world class research infrastructures. 

3.  MAKING  THE  SET  PLAN  FIT  FOR  THE  NEW  ENERGY  AND  CLIMATE  AMBITION: 

ADDRESSING CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES 

The revised SET Plan priorities, actions and IWGs should be accompanied by new priorities 
on cross-cutting issues to accelerate the development and deployment of clean  and efficient 
energy technologies57. The revised SET Plan will take a  task  force  approach to  address  the 
following cross-cutting issues: 

Digitalisation is key to the energy transition as it can improve the performance of many parts 
of the energy system and reduce the costs of research and experiments through virtualisation58. 
Ensuring that smarter assets can communicate easily and offer flexibility will be important in 
balancing  supply  and  demand  of  our  energy  system,  thus  facilitating  the  integration  of 
decentralised renewable energy sources and reducing their curtailment. Digitalisation will be 
key to supporting the flexibility that energy-intensive industries need to respond to challenges 
such  as  electrification  or  volatile  energy  supply.  Digital  solutions  can  also  enhance  market 
integration and empower consumers in the energy transition. 

The revised SET Plan will support closer cooperation between digital and energy areas across 
the entire strategic technology value chains in EU and national R&I programmes. As announced 
in the EU action plan for the digitalisation of the energy system, the Commission will create the 
‘Gathering  Energy  and  Digital  Innovators  from  across  the  EU’  (GEDI  EU)  platform  for 
cooperation between the SET Plan stakeholders and the European Digital Innovation Hubs and 

53 http://www.eera-jpnm.eu/ 
54 Radioactive waste management, geological disposal, and decommissioning (EURAD); Nuclear materials to 
improve plant safety and efficiency, and qualification for advanced nuclear fission and fusion systems; 
Radiation protection (PIANOFORTE) also supporting the implementation of the Strategic Agenda for Medical 
Ionising Radiation Applications; Fusion research with EUROfusion. 
55 Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, 
Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden.  
56 https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/nuclear%20alliance%20statement_VEN.pdf 
57 European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, SET plan interim evaluation final 
report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/939719https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/939719. 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/939719 
58 COM(2022) 552 final - ‘Digitalising the energy system – EU Action Plan’. 

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the Artificial  Intelligence Testing and Experimentation  Facilities (AI TEFs)  set  up  under the 
Digital Europe Programme that focus on energy. 

Furthermore, the SET Plan community will assist the Commission in preparing policy initiatives 
on the digital and sustainable transformation of the EU’s energy system. 

Planetary  boundaries  must  be  respected  by  improving  the  circularity  (recyclability  and 
reusability) and efficiency of clean energy materials and other low-carbon technologies and 
infrastructures  through  a  lifecycle  approach  (e.g.  development  of  advanced  sustainable 
materials, and material/water consumption reduction in production processes) and by investing 
more in research on materials substitution to secure the resilience of the European clean energy 
supply chains.  The  circular  economy  action  plan proposes to  strengthen the role of circular 
economy objectives in future revisions of the national energy and climate plans, while pointing 
to  support  possibilities  under  State  aid  rules  for  clean  energy  technology  development  and 
deployment and, where appropriate, in other climate policies. 

The  revised  SET  Plan  will  support  the  circularity  principles  by  mainstreaming  the  recovery, 
recycling  and  substitution  of  critical  raw  materials  into  the  research,  development,  and 
manufacturing of clean energy technologies. 

Societal needs must be respected to ensure a just, fair and socially acceptable transition for all 
as  a  means  of  facilitating  the  development  and  implementation  of  low-carbon  energy 
technologies  and  infrastructures  (e.g.  through  better  understanding  of  the  public’s  concerns 
such as energy poverty or emerging health and safety related issues for workers in ‘green’ jobs, 
and their increased engagement and participation). 

The  revised  SET  Plan  will  pursue  a  user-centred  approach  by  mainstreaming  issues  such  as 
health,  gender,  safety,  security,  accessibility,  affordability,  as  well  as  the  needs  of  aging  or 
disabled consumers into all actions. 

The upskilling and reskilling of the workforce is of paramount importance to meet the labour 
needs  of  a  new  energy  and  societal  model.  So  far,  14  Member  States59  are  including 
investments  and reforms in  the area of green skills and jobs  in  their national  Recovery and 
Resilience Plans that, together, amount to around EUR 1.5 billion60.  Other resources to support 
green skills and jobs are earmarked by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+, EUR 5.8 billion) 
and  the  Just  Transition  Mechanism  (EUR  3  billion).  The  European  Regional  Development 
Fund (ERDF) complements ESF+ with investments in skills, education and training, including 
infrastructure  (EUR  1.8  billion).  Horizon  Europe  provides  targeted  support  to  a  European 
Hydrogen  Academy,  bringing  together  a  large  alliance  of  universities  and  institutions.  The 
Single Market Programme includes support to a Solar Academy. Furthermore, the European 

59  Greece,  Spain,  France,  Croatia,  Portugal,  Slovenia,  Ireland,  Estonia,  Lithuania,  Romania,  the  Netherlands, 
Cyprus, Finland and Denmark. 
60 Figures as of 18 August 2023. They are based on the pillar tagging methodology for the Recovery and Resilience 
Scoreboard  and  correspond  to  the measures  allocated  to  the  policy  area  ’Green  skills  and  jobs’  as  primary or 
secondary policy area. 

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Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and its Knowledge and Innovation Communities 
(KICs) which operate in various fields, such as energy, raw materials and climate, offer a wide 
array  of  education  and  training  programmes  with  a  strong  entrepreneurship  and  innovation 
component.  Most  of  these  programmes  are  already  available  at  the  EIT  Campus61  and 
contribute to deep tech talent62 development.  

Notwithstanding  these  funds  available  at  European  level,  investment  in  skills  needs  to  be 
mainly financed by other public and private investments, and current funding is insufficient to 
meet the needs. 

The Commission strongly encourages SET Plan countries to engage in the new EU large-scale 
skills partnership for onshore renewable energy under the Pact for Skills  and to consider the 
possibilities for funding from  the ESF+, ERDF and the Just Transition Fund programmes, if 
relevant and in line with the programmes’ objectives. 

The revised SET Plan will support the European Net-Zero Industry Academies announced in 
the  Net-Zero  Industry  Act63,  by  building  on  the  experience  of  the  European  Batteries 
Academy64. Each academy will aim to train 100 000 people within their first 3 years. 

To  support  Europe’s  recovery  and  increase  its  competitiveness  and  global  leadership  in 
technology,  SET  Plan  activities  must  accelerate  the  market  uptake  of  R&I  results.  This 
means  embedding  industrial  processes,  manufacturing  needs,  and  their  costs  in  technology 
development. To accelerate market uptake, innovators and technology developers should be 
able  to  test  their  product’s  manufacturability  efficiently  and  quickly  in  a  professional  and 
accessible  technology  infrastructure  and  receive  a  pre-certification  record  and  a  lifecycle 
assessment.  This  will  help  potential  investors  to  make  informed  decisions  based  on  the 
manufacturing potential and compliance with existing regulations. Once set up, the regulatory 
sandboxes  proposed  in  the  Net-Zero  Industry  Act  will  be  a  major  support  for  innovators, 
developers and investors alike. The Recovery and Resilience Facility has also been an enabling 
tool in this area, where measures amounting to EUR 15 billion have been included in national 
Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans  addressing  research  and  innovation  towards  climate  change 
mitigation, adaptation, and the circular economy. 

The revised SET Plan will share best practices on regulatory issues, liaising with the Net-Zero 
Europe Platform where it should be represented. It will identify the needs for and feasibility of 
technology  infrastructures  in  the  EU,  with  a  link  to  the  European  approach  for  technology 
infrastructures under the European Research Area Policy Agenda. 

The revised SET Plan will develop strong links between the ETIPs and industrial alliances (the 
European Battery Alliance, the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance and the Solar PV Industry 
Alliance), to promote the development of viable investment projects and manufacturing capacity 
in clean energy technologies in the EU, and  to address market, regulatory, infrastructure and 
technological barriers to their large-scale deployment. 

61 https://eit-campus.eu/  
62 https://www.eitdeeptechtalent.eu/  
63 E.g. solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies, renewable hydrogen technologies and raw materials 
64 The European Batteries Academy is run by InnoEnergy, a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) of 
the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). 

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The  revised  SET  Plan  should  improve  access  to  funding,  in  particular  to  scale  up 
innovations. In 2021, the EU spent EUR 328 billion on R&I, representing 2.26% of GDP65. 
This  ratio was well below  both  that of  Japan  (3.26%) and  that of  the  US (3.45%). Clearly, 
efforts still need to be intensified to reach the EU public and private expenditure target of 3% 
of GDP66. Although most Member States have increased their public R&I investments in the 
Energy Union priorities, as a proportion of GDP these investments  were in  2021 below the 
levels  prior to  2016. As for private investments,  they were proportionally lower than major 
competing economies such as China, Japan, and South Korea.  With 19% of global Venture 
Capital investments in clean energy technology firms, the EU ranked third in 2022, behind the 
US and China67. 

This underlines the need to use the full range of EU public financial instruments (such as grants, 
loans  and  quasi-equity),  including  the  new  Strategic  Technologies  for  Europe  Platform68 
(STEP), to leverage private capital (e.g. from investment funds, banks and pension funds) for 
the SET Plan priorities in order to maximise the amount, quality and impact of investment in 
R&I and accelerate deployment. Best use should be made of instruments that bridge the gap 
between public and private sector investment, such as the Green Transition Product and the 
Joint Equity Product under InvestEU69 and the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst70. The SET Plan 
ETIPs are well-positioned to identify potential barriers and recommend possible solutions to 
leverage such private and public investments. 

The scope and activities of the SET Plan is highly congruent with that of the Innovation Fund, 
which is the key EU funding instrument for the deployment of low-carbon technologies in the 
areas of renewable energy generation, energy storage, CCUS (carbon capture, utilisation and 
storage),  energy-intensive  industries,  net-zero  mobility  and  buildings.  Synergies  and 
complementarities should be sought between the activities of the SET Plan and the Innovation 
Fund. In this context, coordination actions funded by Horizon Europe Clusters 4 and 5 in the 
main areas of the Innovation Fund will be launched early 2024. 

The  Clean  Energy  Transition  Partnership  will  be  instrumental  to  the  extended  scope  of  the 
revised SET Plan, as it will support links between funding instruments and improve access to 
the clean energy technology market. The European Energy Research Alliance will complement 
the work of the Partnership by organising joint programmes between research institutes and 
academia. 

The actors involved in the revised SET Plan should aim to secure increased financial support 
for the Clean Energy Transition Partnership  co-funded under Horizon Europe, to support the 
stronger ambitions, including increased collaboration between ETIPs under the ETIPs Forum71. 
Synergies and complementarities should be sought between the activities of the SET Plan and 
the Innovation Fund. 

65 Source: Eurostat 
66 European Council conclusions of 23 March 2023, pdf (europa.eu)  
67 Source: Competitiveness Progress Report 2022 
68 https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2023-06/COM_2023_335_1_EN_ACT_part1_v11.pdf   
69 InvestEU Fund (europa.eu) 
70 https://breakthroughenergy.org/our-work/catalyst/  
71 The ETIPs Forum develops and maintains regular, continuous and structured dialogue between the 11 ETIPs.  

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The Commission calls upon SET Plan countries to increase efforts to spend 3% of their GDP on 
R&I and to foster the scale-up of innovations. 

4.  GOVERNANCE, MONITORING AND REPORTING 

The SET Plan will need to renew its governance model to deliver on the goals of the European 
Green Deal, REPowerEU and the Green Deal  Industrial Plan. To this  end, the Commission 
proposes to increase the legitimacy of the SET Plan Steering Group by upgrading it to the status 
of expert group, possibly as a subgroup under the European Research Area and extending its 
mandate to providing strategic directions for the development and implementation of the SET 
Plan.  It  also  proposes  to  set  up  dedicated,  time  bound  task  forces  to  integrate  cross-cutting 
issues into SET Plan work and to strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation between the SET Plan 
IWGs. The Commission will foster the engagement of all SET Plan countries in this expert 
group and their activities should be coordinated with the Horizon Europe representatives of the 
EU Member States and Associated Countries. 

Through  the  SET  Plan  information  system  (SETIS),  the  Commission  will  systematically 
monitor  and  report  on  the  progress  and  achievements  of  the  revised  SET  Plan  and  map 
developments  in  the  European  R&I  landscape  through  key  performance  indicators.  This 
information will feed into the annual reporting on the Energy Union and will be disseminated 
at  the  SET  Plan  annual  conferences.  This  information  will  also  support  Member  States  in 
deploying innovative renewable technologies under the revised Renewable Energy Directive72. 

The SET Plan is essential for delivering on the fifth dimension of the Energy Union (research, 
innovation and competitiveness)73. Member States should therefore include national objectives 
stemming from the SET Plan, as well as R&I activities, in their national energy and climate 
plans  (NECPs),  including  exploring  synergies  between  other  relevant  national  funds  and 
activities74. NECPs should also assess the adequacy of national funding for R&I activities. The 
Commission’s assessment of this part of the NECPs, including of progress reports and their 
updates, will feed into its overall assessment of the SET Plan achievements. In addition, the 
Commission calls on Member States to reinforce the collaboration at national level between 
their SET Plan community and those actors in charge of NECPs. 

At European level, the new SET Plan will be given a greater role in feeding into the annual 
progress  reports  on  the  competitiveness  of  clean  energy  technologies  -  another  tool  of  the 
Energy Union. These annual reports from the Commission to the European Parliament and the 
Council, are therefore an important way to share information about the implementation of the 
SET Plan. 

72  Directive  (EU)  2018/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  December  2018  on  the 
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast), (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).  
73 Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 
December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 
663/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC, 
2009/31/EC,  2009/73/EC,  2010/31/EU,  2012/27/EU  and  2013/30/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council, (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 1).  
74 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52022XC1229(02)  

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The SET Plan should also become the main tool for advancing clean energy research in the 
European Research Area, especially  on cross-cutting  issues like skills,  circularity, access  to 
market,  digitalisation  and  social  requirements.  The  Commission  will  ensure  an  annual 
exchange  between  the  SET  Plan  and  the  ERA  Forum  to  assess  mutual  achievements  and 
alignment of activities. In parallel, the Commission will also reinforce the exchanges between 
the SET Plan Steering Group and the Energy Union government representatives. 

The SET Plan should play a prominent role in informing the development and implementation 
of  relevant  EU  energy  and  research  strategies  and  legislation,  in  particular  the  Net-Zero 
Industry  Act.  The  SET  Plan  should  regularly  report  on  its  achievements  to  the  relevant 
Committees  of  the  European  Parliament  and  Council  working  parties.  A  higher  level  of 
political  support  and  commitment  to  the  SET  Plan  will  ensure  better  consistency  between 
various national actions, and mobilise and leverage more investments  for research into, and 
development  and  deployment  of  clean  energy  technologies,  by  both  the  public  and  private 
sector. 

5.  CONCLUSIONS 

The Commission recognises the SET Plan’s contribution to the EU’s climate and energy goals, 
as well as its potential to contribute to stronger industrial competitiveness and to more resilient 
European supply chains, by enhancing collaboration between the involved countries, industry 
and research institutes.  

However, the SET Plan’s objectives, governance structure and IWGs need to be revised if it is 
to make an even greater contribution to the European Green Deal, REPowerEU and Green Deal 
Industrial Plan goals, thereby accelerating the clean energy transition and increasing the EU’s 
competitiveness. 

To  this  end,  the  Commission  will  work  closely  with  the  SET  Plan  countries,  the  SET  Plan 
Steering  Group  and  other  relevant  stakeholders,  including  new  actors  and  task  forces  as 
necessary, to develop and deliver on the new actions and targets. 

The Commission calls on all involved countries to strengthen their participation and to increase 
their efforts in supporting research and innovation in, and the development and deployment of, 
innovative  clean  energy  solutions,  and  to  further  contribute  to  the  financing  and 
implementation of the SET Plan initiatives through a joint programming approach. 

The Commission calls on the Council and Parliament to agree to the strengthening of the SET 
Plan as set out in this Communication. 

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