Planning a sustainable energy future is a daunting task for any government. For regions as diverse and large as Europe, the challenges can seem overwhelming. How can policymakers intervene in a market as complex as the energy sector and reduce the risk of policy failure? That is the question the European Commission and Member States face as they seek to forge a sustainable and cost-effective energy supply for an entire continent.
A systems approach to energy innovation can help guide decision-making by determining the most cost-effective combination of future technologies. Modelling underpins this approach. Though such tools do not promise definitive answers, the broad trends flagged by a comprehensive model of the EU energy system could help policymakers and private-sector investors ask the right questions about both existing and emerging technologies.
Researchers, academic policy experts and commission officials gathered in Brussels on 23 November to explore a systems approach to energy innovation at a Science|Business symposium entitled How to Plan Europe’s Energy Future, the third in a series of academic policy debates on research and innovation in new energy technologies, supported by BP.
The half-day symposium highlighted a case study of the energy R&D model developed by the UK’s Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), a public-private partnership formed in 2007 to accelerate the development of sustainable energy technologies. The ETI model case study launched a broader discussion about the benefits and challenges of taking a systems-based approach to energy innovation in a country or region.
Both the UK and the US, have built sophisticated models of their energy sectors and their governments are using these models to help direct R&D spending and subsidies, set energy policies and design regulation. Individual countries such as Germany and Japan are also embracing a systems approach to energy innovation.
Should the European Union do the same? And what are the challenges inherent in designing a comprehensive model covering the whole of Europe that could then be used to help coordinate EU-wide investment in energy R&D and innovation?
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