Developing, demonstrating and deploying innovative cleantech plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Many of these technologies, such as heat pumps or wind power,
are already on the market. Achieving the EU’s 2030 climate target largely depends on deploying these technologies at speed and greatly expanding the EU’s cleantech manufacturing base. However, simply manufacturing and deploying the cleantech that is on the market today will not suffice to reach climate neutrality. Doing so requires the development of innovative technologies that still require research and development, first-of-a-kind demonstration, and commercial scale-up – and at a much faster pace than was seen in the past for technologies such as solar PV or lithium-ion car batteries.
To meet the EU climate targets, policymakers need to support both the rapid deployment and manufacturing of cleantech, while also strengthening the EU’s research and innovation ecosystem. Next to this, they need to consider a range of questions. How will their policy response deliver quality jobs for citizens? How will it bolster the EU’s resilience vis-à-vis Russia or China? And finally, how will it support the EU’s economic competitiveness in an era when large economies have entered a cleantech race? This factsheet reviews existing EU funding initiatives to accomplish this endeavour.
Listen to our Böll·Europe Podcast episode #8 "Cleantech and Europe: what’s next?", with Thomas Pellerin-Carlin & Suzana Carp.