More and better designed national public support for energy technology Research and Innovation

SYNERGIES PILLAR: SMARTSPEND is going to put booster rockets under the SET Plan. It will bring all the non-nuclear energy sectors together for a focused discussion on their common interests around technology development and non-technology barriers to the uptake of their technologies. The partners will then talk in parallel to all Implementation Working Groups to ensure that synergies between the ideas, plans and ambitions of each sector are exploited. This will happen at the start, middle and end of the project. FINANCIAL STRATEGIES PILLAR: SMARTSPEND will also get energy sectors to sit together and discuss their common needs for financing, and compare the way in which each federates its European energy R&I interest and presents it to the Commission. The messages from discussions under both Pillars will be brought to the attention of high-level government officials (ideally ministers) individually through a concerted campaign in SET Plan country capitals. This is SMARTSPEND’s ‘Roadshow’, in which delegations of 5 relevant company bosses are created, briefed, and sent to the minister to tell their story and share their views. In addition, the project will ensure all are better aware of the EU’s soft loan scheme for energy innovation, EDP Innovfin, and of ETS Innovation Fund. Both can complement national or European grants. SMARTSPEND will organise a conference, “Access to Risk Finance” for energy technology developers and the managers of public and private financing or funding schemes. Knowledge of the schemes’ opportunities will be spread widely. The SMARTSPEND consortium has the ideal make-up to reach deep into the community of stakeholders behind each SET Plan energy technology. Leading organisations behind the few technologies not represented in the consortium have sent letters of support to the proposal indicating they will use other funding to join SMARTSPEND’s activities and comment on early versions of its reports.