17 April 2026
As part of EUREC’s ongoing campaign to advocate for innovative renewable energy technologies (iRETs), EUREC has contributed input to the open public consultation on the renewable energy framework after 2030, which closed 16 April. The input, written alongside Future Cleantech Architects, Ocean Energy Europe, and InnoEnergy and containing more than 15 total signatories, reinforces the need to scale up the next generation of iRETs to complement established renewables and deliver a future-proof energy system. This necessitates strong objectives for iRETs, such as the 5% target in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), as well as strengthened support measures to address key policy and funding bottlenecks slowing the industrial rollout of iRETs in Europe.
The benefits of supporting iRETs are clear: innovative renewables can deliver on Europe’s top energy priorities, including:
- Energy security with home-grown power manufactured in Europe
- Lower electricity prices by increasing the share of low marginal cost penetration in EU electricity markets
- Drive decarbonisation and system flexibility by producing at different times than established renewables and directly displacing fossil fuels from the grid (both dispatchability and baseload benefits)
- Boost the EUs industrial competitiveness by scaling up technologies where Europe leads globally
The input details four main measures to drive the large-scale deployment of innovative renewables in Europe:
- Extending the 5% innovation target to 2040 to ensure visibility beyond 2030
- Deploying de-risking and market-based instruments to facilitate market creation and scale-up
- Lifting remaining regulatory barriers to accelerate deployment within Member States
- Strengthening Commission support to help operationalise the target in Member States