EC Launches Strategic Energy Technology Plan Information System
October 8, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
On Oct. 7, the European Commission (EC) launched the online European Strategic Energy Technology Plan Information System (SETIS), which will provide the latest research results on the status, forecasts and R&D investment figures for low-carbon technologies.
SETIS underpins the effective strategic planning, conception and realization of European Union (EU) energy technology policy and will help implement the EU's Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan).
SETIS will assess and monitor those technologies that have a significant potential to help Europe meet its energy and climate change targets, such as wind power, solar energy, carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) and bioenergy.
SETIS offers interactive tools to compare the maximum potential and energy production costs foreseen for the different technologies over time.
Scientific and market analyses will be fed into the system by the SETIS community, led by the EC through its Joint Research Center (JRC), working in close collaboration with other EC services, EU member states and European stakeholders in industry, research and finance.
The analyses cover, in particular, the low-carbon technologies identified by the SET Plan and proposed as European Industrial Initiatives (wind power, photovoltaics, concentrating solar power, bioenergy, CSS, smart grids and nuclear fission), two ongoing initiatives (fuel cells and hydrogen and nuclear fusion), as well as other technologies with great potential, such as ocean energy, geothermal power and energy storage. Demand-side energy-efficient technologies are also included.
SETIS will focus its analyses on R&D investment, which marks the innovation capacities for each technology, the state of the art for each technology, and forecasts from a technological, market and impact point of view.
SETIS plans to provide validated up-to-date information and analyses on energy technology innovation through two core sets of maps:
- Capacities maps, which monitor R&D efforts made by industry and the public sector in the EU on key low-carbon technologies. SETIS will continuously monitor the research efforts and report periodically through these maps.
- Technology maps, which gather key information on the status and prospects of low-carbon technologies. These maps, updated annually, have contributed to the definition and the key performance indicators of the proposed "technology roadmap," which offers Europe a solid basis for technology development strategic planning.
SETIS also released an online energy production cost calculator that allows users to compare costs of production for different technologies over time (up to 2030) and dissects the main elements that contribute to these costs. Cost prospects are a valuable tool to foresee the competitiveness of a given technology within the energy system and its evolution.
"SETIS has been designed as a unique, accessible one-stop-shop for validated, up-to-date information about low-carbon energy technologies," said Janez Potočnik, EC commissioner for science and research.
"Its aim is to disseminate robust data and transparent methodologies widely, in support to the EU blueprint for research on energy technologies, the SET Plan. SETIS monitors low-carbon technologies and helps determine where best to invest resources and coordinate action in EU interest."
Background
The SET Plan was adopted by the European Council in February 2008. It is a first step to establish an energy technology policy for Europe and is based on the following objectives:
- Accelerate knowledge development, technology transfer and up-take.
- Maintain EU industrial leadership on low-carbon energy technologies.
- Foster science for transforming energy technologies to achieve EU energy and climate change goals for 2020.
- Contribute to the global effort towards a low-carbon economy.
The Joint Research Center is a Directorate General of the EC. It provides customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the EC, the JRC functions as a reference center of science and technology for the EU. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of EU member states, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national.
Further Information
For more information, see:
Source: European Commission (EC).