ETIPs FORUM recommendations and 1st Position Paper for the SET Plan review process

In view of the ongoing review process of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan), the 10  European Technology and Innovation Platforms (ETIPs) and associations functionally assimilated to ETIPs joined in a stable and structured dialogue, the ETIPs FORUM, drafted together a set of 8 recommendations to inform the European Commission (EC) and other stakeholders involved in the process, about their common position on the SET Plan implementation and recommend possible pathways for a more efficient and inclusive implementation of the planned actions.

These recommendations are complemented by a position paper providing specific feedback as a result of a dedicated survey, to which the ETIPs and assimilated organisations replied to.

1. SET PLAN Implementation Working Groups' Implementation Plans, and the respective ETIPs' Work programmes (in the form of SRIAs/Roadmaps/Implementation Plans etc…) should be aligned in overarching goals and objectives, with clear mission-oriented approaches to reach impacts and to be adopted by all involved actors (European Commission, Members States, industries, research communities). The SET Plan's overall goals and objectives as a European framework should be reaffirmed, where the IWG Plans/ETIP Plans should contribute to a selected number of areas.
2. The revised SET Plan should be in line with the European Green Deal and future high-level energy policy developments, sufficiently flexible to integrate major changes, and its main provisions should be adequately integrated into the NECPs and other relevant national policies and/or strategies. The SET PLAN should also support in a strong and active manner - the achievement of the abovementioned policy goals, not limiting its role to the policy priorities' alignment.

3. There is a shared need to enhance discussion, interaction and collaboration between the decision policy makers, ETIPs (including European industries, researches centers, academia, and NGOs) and EERA with the precise and concrete scope to facilitate and foster the alignment of priorities between the SET Plan IWGs' IPs, the national R&I agendas and the ETIPs priorities. It is crucial to foresee a fruitful and structured discussion about the incoming legislative proposals with the activities to be developed at the R&D level.
4. The revised SET Plan must have a clear governance structure, transparent processes and be open to accommodate new and relevant stakeholders (even as official observers or advisory groups for certain thematic areas) and process for utilising and implementing the SET Plan in the Member States and relevant markets. Stakeholders' roles must be clarified. All the already existing and new proposed roles in the SET Plan Governance must be clearly defined in the revised structure. A clear and well-structured definition of the roles and responsibilities of each involved actor (EC, MSs, ETIPs, IWG components, NRCGs and NSCGs) must be given in a more public, transparent, and integrated way.
5. The revised SET Plan governance should allow for structured and efficient collaboration and exchange with the ETIPs. These interactions should take place at the level of the SET Plan Steering Group. To this respect, regular involvement of the ETIPs and EERA as observers in the SET Plan Steering Group is highly suggested and supported.
6. To enhance the existing dialogue and exchange between the ETIPs and the EC DGs (DG ENER, DG RTD, JRC) in charge of the SET Plan is needed. This communication and exchange need to be intended at two different levels: A. early involvement in the SET Plan Conference: Co-organisation of specific thematic sessions and having dedicated space for the dissemination of main outputs, and, B. a constant and recognised role in the SET Plan Steering Group as specified in Recommendation n.5.
7. Respecting the sector-specific mission and work of individual ETIPs and IWGs, the SET Plan should provide conditions for collaboration on cross-cutting – both technological and non-technological – activities between the different IWGs and ETIPs. Relevant cross-cutting topics might include digitalisation, skills, sustainability/circularity, acceptability of renewables/citizens' empowerment. This action would certainly boost energy system integration and help to address common challenges, align work plans and enhance synergies across industries, research centres, academia and other organisations.
8. The technical expertise of the SET Plan IWGs should be enriched with ETIPs' experts so as to improve their capacity to translate technology-specific challenges into specific innovation and R&I objectives.

WG Updates

WG1:  The White Paper on “E-mobility deployment and impact on grids” has been published and is now available.

The Flexibility for Resilience White paper is now published and available.

The Hydrogen and Grids Task Force is continuing its drafting work and aims to achieve their first draft in Q4 2022.

The TF on Energy Communities’ Impact on Grids in cooperation with ISGAN has significantly advanced with respect to the drafting of the deliverable.

WG2: There has been some delay in the activities of the WG2 product of unforeseen circumstances in the Chair Team. In terms of ongoing activities, TF KPI on Energy Storage Applications paper has been sent to storage-oriented Policy Officers from DG ENER in an effort to obtain initial feedback. Once this feedback is incorporated, the paper shall be submitted to the ETIP SNET Governing Board. Furthermore, the WG2 has mapped the activities of its next TF; Development of Circular Economy Approach to Energy Storage Value Chains and expects to kick off this TF in November.

WG3: WG3’s white paper “Coupling of Heat/Cooling and Electricity Sectors in a Renewable Energy Driven Europe” has been sent to the Publications Office and will soon be published. A webinar will be organised to present the paper in October/November. On October 18th, the White Paper was presented at the SyNERGY MED 2022 conference in Thessaloniki, Greece. After initial feedback from the Governing Board, the WG3 is implementing feedback into the "New Electricity Market Design" position paper. WG3 is also working on a "Hydrogen Ramp-up" position paper. 

NSCG: On 18 October the NSCG, together with JPP SES, hosted the session "Linking the Worlds: the National Stakeholder Coordination Group (NSCG)”. The event – which is available to be rewatched anytime – aimed at further intensifying the cooperation between the two stakeholders in bringing together research, development and innovation processes at national level and to link them with initiatives at EU level.

CETPartnership and the SET Plan event

We are pleased to inform you about the online side event of the SET Plan Conference 2022: The CETPartnership and the SET Plan, which will take place on 8 November from 10:00 to 12:00 CET.

Registration and streaming here.

This event will:

• Provide insight into the goals and concepts of the CETPartnership;
• Show how the partnership is going to link and co-create with the stakeholder groups in the SET Plan actions;
• Explain the concepts of the Transition Initiatives as well as of the evolving Knowledge Community and Impact Network;
• Bring concrete examples that have already been implemented in previous ERA-Nets.

The recordings will be available after the event and can be watched anytime.

We kindly invite you to forward this invitation to your SET Plan partners (ETIPs, IWG, etc.) who could be interested in participating.