The European Commission is boosting new investment in clean energy and climate research and innovation by doing the following:
Increasing targeted public investment in clean energy and climate science and innovation – worth €3.4 billion in 2018-
2020 under the EU's flagship Horizon 2020 research programme;
Deploying targeted financial instruments to lower the risk of private investments; Targeted support for top-class
innovators comes through the first phase of the European Innovation Council, which will accelerate the development and
scale-up of breakthrough innovations through a bottom-up approach. This project focuses €2.7 billion of funding and
opportunities on innovators, start-ups and companies with ideas and innovations which are radically different from existing
products, services or business models, are highly risky and have the potential to scale up internationally. The most innovative
start-ups in the clean technology sector will create the future European global companies in this area.
The European
Commission will also provide investments of up to €400 million in an independently managed Venture Capital Fund of-Funds.
The EU investment will represent up to 25% of a projected total fund of €1.6 billion.
Designing a stable and ambitious regulatory environment that promotes innovation: The EU Emissions Trading System
will include two new Innovation and Modernisation funds that have the potential to generate up to €18 billion of
revenue during the next decade. The revenue is intended for European industry to invest in new technologies and for the
Member States to modernise their power sector and energy systems.
The Innovation Fund will help European industry to make investments in breakthrough technologies. Potential projects include
steel production without the use of coal, production of cement that captures greenhouse gas emissions, aluminium production with
up to 100% greenhouse gas emission reductions, new tidal energy, wave energy, floating wind and energy storage or efficiency
concepts.
The Modernisation Fund will facilitate investments in the power sector and wider energy systems and boosting energy efficiency
in 10 lower-income Member States. It will give priority to the generation and use of electricity from renewables, energy efficiency,
upgrading power grids and interconnectors, and energy storage. The Fund will also support the European Commission's work on the
transition of carbon-dependent regions to the low-carbon economy, including projects on re-deployment, re-skilling and education.
