All posts by : Maria Isabel Santaella

The European Technology & Innovation Platform on Wind energy (ETIPWind) released a sector-wide strategy to maximise the impact of Europe’s funding for wind research and innovation (R&I). The sector calls on the EU to establish a European Fund for Wind Research & Competitiveness under the next EU budget. The Fund should safeguard the competitiveness of the European wind industry and to secure Europe’s technology sovereignty in clean tech.

On 8 April, at the WindEurope Annual Event in Copenhagen, ETIPWind launched its latest report ‘From Innovation to Industrial Competitiveness’. The report presents a common European strategy for wind research & competitiveness. As defined and agreed by the wind industry, academia, and representatives from National Governments.

The wind industry remains Europe’s flagship clean tech industry. Wind energy companies and research institutes employ over 370,000 people and contribute more than €52bn to EU GDP. Wind energy is a home-grown energy source with 99% of the turbines installed in Europe being “made-in-Europe”. And the industrial footprint of wind energy continues to grow. Europe’s wind energy supply chain is investing more than €11bn in new and expanded factories.

However, wind installations are falling short to meet EU long-term goals. In 2024 only 13 GW of new wind capacity was connected in the EU. Far below the required 35 GW of new installations per year needed to reach the EU 2030 target of 425 GW.

R&I funding is a key driver to scale-up, industrialise, and accelerate wind installations. The EU’s public R&I funding must be directed towards automation of manufacturing processes, optimised installation methods, and new fit-for-deployment designs. Alongside with investments in the supply chain and supporting infrastructure such as grids and ports. The current EU approach to wind energy R&I funding is falling short here. The EU lacks the right R&I policies and tools to translate its academic excellence and wind-specific innovation potential into industrial competitiveness. ETIPWind has identified five shortcomings.

1. The EU is not spending enough on R&I for wind energy.
2. EU funding for wind is too fragmented.
3. EU funding for wind lacks focus and direction.
4. EU funding for wind is overly bureaucratic.
5. The EU’s supportive financial ecosystem is underdeveloped.

In this new report, the ETIPWind presents its recommendations to overcome these challenges and improve the EU’s public R&I funding for wind energy so that the European wind industry can remain competitive and help ensure clean technology sovereignty and energy security in Europe.

Foremost the wind energy sector calls on the EU to establish a European Fund for Wind Research & Competitiveness as part of the next EU budget (2028-2034). The Fund must be a technology-specific one-stop-shop that centralises EU funding for wind energy R&I, from basic research to large-scale deployment.

The European Fund for Wind Research & Competitiveness must come with increased EU and national wind energy R&I funding of at least €600m a year. And with a strict simplification of the administrative requirements associated with public R&I funding. It must implement the common strategy for wind research and competitiveness defined in this latest report.

The ETIPWind Chair, Adrian Timbus (Vice-President Portfolio and Market strategy, Hitachi Energy), said: “This report shows wind energy can become the pillar of Europe’s industrial competitiveness and energy security agenda. There is great consensus between the political will and the industry needs. We need to build on this momentum to ensure wind is a top priority in Europe’s industrial strategy and that we invest massively in innovation and industrialisation of wind power solutions. We must strengthen and formalise the collaboration between the wind sector, the European Commission, and the Member States.”.

For more information, please contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

On 4 March, ETIPWind organised a high-level event at the European Parliament, bringing together over 40 representatives from the European Commission (DG ENER and DG RTD), European Parliament, industry leaders, and the research community. Hosted by MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin, the event focused on how the role of Research & Innovation (R&I) in strengthening Europe’s wind industry and accelerating electrification. Speakers also took stock from the recently published Clean Industrial Deal, and how it will help enhance EU’s energy sovereignty.

The first panel discussion explored how innovative wind technologies and R&I funding could boost the European wind industry’s competitiveness. Industry representatives, including Siemens Gamesa and ZF, highlighted the need for R&I projects in key areas such as automation of manufacturing processes or increased performance of turbine components. Bert Verdyck (Head of Product Portfolio at ZF Wind Power) summarised it by raising 3 key elements to safeguard technology sovereignty of the European wind sector: volumes, industrialisation/automation in factories, and more R&I coordination at EU level. MEP Bruno Tobback (S&D) also stressed the economic impact of clean technologies and the necessity of a more strategic approach to scaling up production and innovation. For that, “the Clean Industrial Deal needs to be more ambitious and provides a clear roadmap on strategic European industries like wind energy” he said.

A deep focus of the discussion was about EU funding for wind R&I and how it can be optimised. Rosalinde van der Vlies (Director “Clean Planet” at DG RTD, European Commission) highlighted three points in particular:

• Public R&I funding is very fragmented. We need to do much better to: align EU and national R&I funding, simplify the EU funding programmes and their access, set strategic priorities to deliver EU energy and climate targets.
• A new “Clean Industrial Deal call” of €1bn will be launched in Horizon Europe to support fit-for deployment projects. The call will be less prescriptive and will aim at accelerating the path from R&I to commercialisation.
• New funding mechanisms should also be piloted in the next Horizon Europe Work Programme. The “SET Plan calls” could help optimise funding for strategic energy sectors through a co-investment from the Commission, the industry and the EU Member States.

The second panel discussion then focused on accelerating wind power system integration and electrification. Experts pointed to regulatory challenges, grid capacity and investment needs as key barriers to speed-up on this front. MEP Lidia Pereira (EPP) emphasised the importance of a unified energy market to prevent fragmentation and dependence on external actors like China. Henk-Jan Vink (President of the European Energy Research Alliance) provided examples of innovative solutions we can develop to optimise and digitalise the grid but also to better integrate offshore wind energy (e.g. HVDC technologies). Representatives from GE Vernova and the Commission finally discussed the measures announced in the Clean Industrial Deal, including the Grid manufacturing and the European Grid Packages which will help mobilise grid investments, streamline cross-border planning, and modernise grid infrastructure.

Throughout the event, speakers called for immediate actions and a stronger collaboration to maintain Europe’s leadership in wind energy. This is even more urgent considering that, as Thomas Pellerin-Carlin described, wind energy is a “freedom energy” crucial for Europe’s energy sovereignty amidst global uncertainties.

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On 18 October during a joint workshop on offshore renewables, ETIPWind and ETIP Ocean jointly released a new report titled “Offshore Renewables: Paving the Way for a Competitive and Climate-Neutral Europe by 2050”.

The report estimates the untapped potential of offshore wind (bottom-fixed and floating wind) and ocean energy (tidal and wave energy) in Europe and brings forward both policy and technical recommendations to unlock Europe’s full offshore energy potential.

The findings reveal that the offshore wind industry presents immense opportunities for Europe to achieve a competitive and climate-neutral future. With a total potential of 4,673 GW for offshore wind energy, unlocking this resource is critical to achieving a competitive and climate-neutral Europe by 2050.

This potential is spread across various sea basins, with the largest untapped potential to be found in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. From the 4,673 GW potential figure, two thirds or 3,131 GW lies in waters deeper than 75 m and will mean deploying floating offshore wind technologies. Another 1,542 GW lies in waters that can be accessed with bottom-fixed offshore wind technologies.

The report also puts forward targeted Research & Innovation (R&I) joint areas that will play a vital role on optimising technoloigies and deploying offshore renewables. These areas include co-located project integration, quick connect/disconnect systems, or advanced port logistics which can streamline deployment and reduce costs.

Finally, the report also highlights the ripple effect of R&I investments in offshore wind and ocean technologies. Efficiency improvements in offshore wind operations can indeed lead to significant spillover effects across industries that are less mature.

Many policy measures can help deploy the offshore renewable energy potential in Europe. Market visibility through a clear auctionning calendar is one of them. But the offshore renewable industries also need improved Maritime Spational Planning, streamlined permitting, as well as tailored public financining mechanisms and a strengthened European grid.

The full report, detailing R&I pathways and policy recommendations to support the offshore energy sector, is available here.

On 17 October, over 70 participants from the wind industry, research, and EU institutions gathered in Brussels and online for a public workshop. The workshop aimed mainly at defining the long-term R&I priorities for the wind industry but it also focused on how to implement those R&I topics and set the groundwork for a long-term roadmap to keep wind energy innovation at the heart of the EU’s policy agenda.

Jacek Truszczynski (Deputy Head of Unit, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) opened the event outlining the challenges the wind sector is facing and the solutions that the European Commission brought to support the competitiveness of the industry including the Net Zero Industry Act, the EIB support and access to finance, more flexible state aid rules, etc. He also highlighted the key role of Research & Innovation in the Clean Industrial Deal, that the European Commission is currently preparing, and in the EU Competitiveness Fund that will be released next year. “We will need your ideas on what should be supported, but most importantly on how we should do it. We need to do things differently when it comes to R&I support” said Jacek Truszczynski.

Participants in person and online then agreed on the long-term targets to be achieved by 2050 and the main R&I priorities that need to be implemented in this perspective. Participants agreed that by 2050:

• The European wind industry should be healthy and competitive at the global scale.
• The European industry should have harnessed the potential of digitalisation, automation with high cybersecurity standards.
• Wind should be the backbone of a climate-neutral energy system centred around electrification.
• Wind farms should be fully recyclable and have a positive environmental impact.
• Society should actively support and recognise wind energy as indispensable for European prosperity and climate-neutrality.

The discussion then focused on the actions required to implement the long-term R&I priorities defined by the ETIPWind and EERA experts. One of the key ideas mentioned was the establishment of a long-term partnership for wind energy R&I where all stakeholders (EU, Member States, industry and research) would commit around a common R&I agenda. Participants agreed that this partnership would help accelerating R&I for wind energy and therefore support the competitiveness of the European wind supply chain.

The last part of the workshop was dedicated to the existing policies and funding mechanisms. Representatives from the European Commission – Davide Amato, DG Research & Innovation, Joao Serrano Gomes, DG Climate Action, and Andrea Hercsuth, DG Energy – outlined the opportunities for wind in Horizon Europe, the Innovation Fund, and the Net Zero Industry Act, and engaged in a question round with participants.

The workshop’s outcomes will feed into the ETIPWind Roadmap which will be developed by the ETIPWind experts with expected publication in April 2025.

See presentation slides

After the June’s EU elections, it’s now time to inform EU policymakers who have just been elected about the current state of wind energy technologies, the R&I challenges that the industry faces, and what they can do to support the competitiveness of the sector.

That’s why on 26 June 2024 ETIPWind hosted its second public workshop.

50 experts from the wind industry, research, academia, and EU institutions gathered in Brussels to shape ETIPWind’s strategy to engage with the newly elected EU policymakers.

The ETIPWind Secretariat introduced the workshop with a presentation on the results of the EU elections and their impact on the wind energy sector. The European Commission (DG RTD) then presented the current research & innovation (R&I) framework for wind energy. As well as the key topics that will frame the discussions around the next EU Framework Programme on R&I, FP10.

Presentations can be found below.

For the second part of the workshop, participants split up into four groups for an interactive session. The objective was to define ETIPWind’s key messages to bring new EU policymakers up to speed on what’s happening in wind technology field. Participants therefore discussed:

• common perceptions that policymakers might have about wind energy technology;
• current wind energy technology megatrends;
• policy actions that policymakers should undertake to support wind R&I; and
• new ideas for ETIPWind to better engage with policymakers.

Key takeaways from the discussions include for example the fact that wind energy can be seen as a mature technology, mostly because the ongoing R&D efforts (e.g. automation of manufacturing processes, optimisation of O&M) are not visible for policymakers. Wind energy can also be perceived as a “controversial” source of energy whereas the benefits that the sector brings to Europe (e.g. economic value, jobs creation) are huge. ETIPWind should therefore work on raising awareness about the key wind technology megatrends and ensure that policymakers support continuous innovation and large EU flagship projects.

ETIPWind will soon publish a report summarising the outcomes from the workshop. So stay tuned for more details!

See presentation slides

ETIPWind’s new European wind energy competitiveness report finds that Europe’s wind industry employed 370,000 and contributed €57bn to Europe’s GDP in 2023

ETIPWind published its new European wind energy competitiveness report. The annual report provides an update on the macroeconomic indicators for the European wind industry in 2023. The indicators include wind energy installations, contribution of wind energy to Europe’s GDP, trade balance, job creation, and research & innovation (R&I) expenditure.

The backbone of Europe’s electricity demand

Wind now meets 20% of Europe’s electricity demand. In Denmark wind accounts for as much as 56% of all electricity consumed. Ireland and Germany get roughly a third of their electricity demand from wind; the UK, Netherlands and Spain more than a fourth each.

As of 2023, Europe had 272 GW of wind energy capacity installed of which 87% was onshore wind. In the EU, there were 220 GW of wind energy capacity of which 91% were onshore wind.

A strategic industry for Europe

Wind energy is central to both Europe’s energy security and industrial strategy. It contributes €57.2bn to Europe’s GDP. €34.5bn of this are direct contributions from developers, manufacturers and components suppliers. The wind industry is also a major European exporter. In 2023 it exported €11bn of goods and services.

Each gigawatt (GW) of onshore wind installed in Europe generated €3.4bn of value to the European economy. Each GW of offshore wind generated €2.8bn. On average that means that each new onshore turbine added €15m to the European economy and every new offshore turbine added €27m of economic activity.

Finally, the EU wind industry has increased investments in R&I for the second consecutive year. In 2023 the wind industry made investments worth 3.79% of its contribution to GDP in R&I. The wind industry consistently outperforms the average EU R&I investments.

The environmental, economic, and social value of wind

Wind energy also brings value to the European citizens. In 2023 the European wind energy sustained 370,000 jobs. The number of people employed in the industry has increased for the second year in a row, after three years of stagnation during the COVID-19 and energy crises in Europe. In comparison, the wind industry employed 247,000 people 10 years ago.

In addition, wind farms bring local tax revenues and other economic benefits. The wind industry contributed €10bn in taxes to the local governments and communities where turbines are located.

When it comes to the environmental benefits, wind energy generation avoided 139 million tons of CO2 in Europe. This is equivalent to avoided costs of €11.6bn, calculated based on the average price of EU emission allowances in 2023 of €83/tCO2.

More investments in R&I needed

To reach the 42.5% renewable energy target by 2030 the EU must install 30 GW of wind energy per year, up from 17 GW today. The ETIPWind competitiveness report shows that this target is within reach. But R&I investments will be crucial to accelerate wind energy deployment in Europe.

In 2023 the wind industry invested the equivalent of 3.8% of its GDP contribution in R&I activities. Which means that the wind industry remains to outperform the EU objective to have 3% of its GDP contribution dedicated to R&I activities by 2030.

But this should be combined with targeted public investments. In their latest Strategic R&I Agenda, ETIPWind experts estimate that the sector needs €1.8bn of public investment support in wind R&I between 2025 and 2027.

Read the full report here

For more information, please contact the ETIPWind Secretariat: [email protected]