Energy R and D in the European Union
The European Union's total expenditures on research and development have grown rapidly since the mid-1980s. For example, in the period between the EU's First Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (spanning the period 1984-1987) and the Fourth Framework Programme (1994-1998), R&D investments under the Framework Programme grew in real terms by more than 120%, from $6.4 billion to $14.5 billion. The budget for the Fifth Framework Programme (1998-2002) is projected to be approximately $15 billion. R&D investments in the health, biotechnology, information technology, and transportation areas have grown most markedly in recent years. Energy R&D constitutes a major, yet declining, share of the total R&D expenditures of the European Union (EU). In the EU's first multi-year Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development ($1.7 billion between 1984-1987), energy R&D accounted for more than 50% of the budget; in the Fifth Framework Programme, only 14% of the budget is devoted to energy R&D ($2.1 billion between 1998-2002). Commitments to nuclear fission R&D have been the hardest hit, declining by more than 50% between 1988-1998. EU investments in non-nuclear energy R&D, particularly in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, have fared best, having more than doubled since 1993 to become the largest element of the energy R&D portfolio. Growth in non-nuclear energy R&D program investments can be explained in part by the EU's increasing policy emphasis on the Framework Programme as a vehicle for technology commercialization and economic competitiveness, more so than as a platform for basic research. European energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, to a greater extent than other energy technologies, are regarded as having great potential for commercialization and sale on the world market.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 14221
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-12218; KD0100000; R&D Project: 11928/07; KD0100000; TRN: US0110974
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Nov 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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