6. Energy technology research, development and demonstration
Key data
(2017)
Government energy RD&D spending: SEK 1.7 billion
Share of GDP: 0.39 per 1 000 GDP units (IEA* median: 0.34)
RD&D per capita: SEK 167
Exchange rate: Swedish kronor (SEK) 1 = USD 0.117 = EUR 0.104
* Average of IEA member countries for 2016.
Overview
The overarching objective for public energy technology research, development and innovation (ETRDI) is to contribute to Sweden’s energy and climate targets, long-term energy and climate policy and energy-related environmental objectives. ETRDI should thus help meet the goals of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2040 and net zerocarbon emissions by 2045. More specifically, these long-term goals aim to:
Build scientific and technological knowledge and competence to enable, through new technology and services, a transition to a sustainable energy system in Sweden that unites ecological sustainability, competitiveness and energy security.
Develop technology and services that could be commercialised by Swedish enterprises, and thus contribute to sustainable growth and the transition and development of the energy system in Sweden as well as in other markets.
Contribute to and take advantage of international co-operation in the energy sector.
The Ministry of Education and Research is responsible for the overall general research policy and funding. This includes direct funding to universities and the Swedish Research Council. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MEE) is responsible for environment, energy and climate policy, and its Energy Division for ETRDI policy and funding. The MEE also funds the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS).
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6. ENERGY TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION
Strategies and programmes
Sweden’s ETRDI policy is based on the 2017 Act on energy research and innovation (R&I) for ecological sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply (Prop. 2016/17:66). It focuses on five major challenges for a sustainable energy future:
To create a completely renewable energy system that meets the challenge of the energy system's impact on the climate, while considering the environmental impact of renewable energy sources.
To ensure a flexible and robust energy system that provides a secure, fully renewable energy supply for the entire community.
To create a resource-efficient society that contributes to competitiveness, enables the transition to a renewable energy system and utilises the available resources effectively.
To increase efforts for innovations for jobs and the climate, so that Sweden can pioneer in the transition to a sustainable energy system. The transition will also be an opportunity to develop the business community.
To enable co-operation in the energy system across actors, sectors, rules and business models to create opportunities for interaction and diversity, and so accelerate the transition.
Based on these five challenges, the government implement actions under the National Energy Research and Innovation Programme 2017-20 (ERIP). The Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) is in charge of managing the programme. Within the SEA, implementation is based on decisions by the government-appointed Energy Research and Development Board, which provides a broad expert opinion before research, development and innovation (RD&I) programmes are approved and their budgets allocated. The Board is led by the Director General of the SEA and has representatives from industry, universities and public entities.
The programme covers the following nine areas:
sustainable power system and renewable energy sources
bioenergy
transport system
industrial processes
buildings in the energy system
general energy system studies
business development and commercialisation
sustainable society
international partnerships.
Within each area, research is organised into specific programmes, the number of which can vary depending on the identified research needs. In the first half of 2018, around 60 programmes and more than 2 500 individual projects were running. In addition, several collaboration programmes with the private sector and joint programmes with other
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