Support to all stakeholders from the Photovoltaic sector and related sectors to contribute to the SET-Plan

Project Information

ETIP PV Secretariat

Grant agreement ID: 101075398

DOI

10.3030/101075398

Project closed

EC signature date 25 July 2022

Start date 1 September 2022

End date 31 August 2025

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 946 500,00

EU contribution

€ 946 500,00

Coordinated by

EPIA SOLARPOWER EUROPE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ETIP PV Secretariat (Support to all stakeholders from the Photovoltaic sector and related sectors to contribute to the SET-Plan)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Whether at global or European scale, electricity is the cornerstone of the clean energy transition and sustainable development. Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy and wind energy are the key technologies to deliver this electricity in sufficient (i.e. very large) quantities, at affordable cost, in an environmentally & societally sustainable way. Their massive rollout, their integration into the energy system, integration into our living environment, as well as circularity of the entire value chain are needed in order to lead the energy transition successfully.

Maintaining a high level of excellence in the European solar PV ecosystem is a key success factor for a strong solar PV industry. Although the global PV market has grown rapidly for decades already, most of the global deployment is yet to come. Only around 1 to 2% of the cumulative PV capacity anticipated in 2050 has been installed so far. This illustrates the huge opportunities for the PV sector, in manufacturing, installation and all other parts of the value chain. In a context where currently almost all PV cells and modules are produced outside Europe (over 97%) and in particular in China (over 70%), and where there is still plenty of room for breakthrough concepts in technology, manufacturing and applications, it is essential to develop a manufacturing industry, going hand in hand with a research & innovation strategy that will ensure Europe’s strong position in this sector. Building upon the strong momentum offered by the European Solar PV Industry Alliance, the ETIP PV supports the competitiveness of the European PV value chain by ensuring the sector is at the forefront of PV innovation, notably in the framework of the European Partnership for innovation in photovoltaics.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The ETIP PV will continue to serve as catalyst to grand challenges in the frame of Energy Union and under the SET Plan. ETIP PV gathers all the relevant stakeholders of the research, materials, equipment and manufacturing PV sector, together with actors active in the downstream installations business, with arrangements for cooperative discussions with member states (MS), associated countries (AC), and the Commission services. Its main role is to provide consensus-based strategic advice on all issues relevant to progressing research and innovation (R&I) efforts.

The main performed work of the ETIP PV Secretariat was focused on:

- Consolidating Research members’ engagement in ETIP PV community through the development of a comprehensive strategy for the research in the field.

- Strengthening the EU industry (private sector) members’ engagement in ETIP PV across the PV sector value chain.

- Ensuring research priorities promoted by ETIP PV are aligned with Europe’s strategic interest in PV across the whole value chain

- Ensuring that ETIP PV is the recognised and trusted voice of the European PV Research and Innovation community in Europe and globally

- Setting the basis for a self-sustainable ETIP beyond the lifetime of the project

- Ensuring top-quality information related to solar PV industry, research and innovation is made available to the targeted audiences.

This was achieved by a pro-active ETIP PV secretariat team which will provide an efficient, impartial and transparent management of the platform. The ETIP PV Secretariat supported the functioning of ETIP PV to ensure the generation of high-quality outcomes and playing an active role in the development of key ETIP PV public documents and other activities, such as events.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The ETIP PV Secretariat project fostered cohesion of the stakeholders involved in the PV sector through the organisation of regular meetings of the members of ETIP PV and of meetings with stakeholders outside ETIP PV in the form of public workshops or conferences.

The project emphasises the enabling of the ETIP PV to play a key role in aligning R&I and industrial strategy priorities and thus help to make sure that research results end up in actual manufacturing projects. The ETIP PV Secretariat actions have supported the ETIP PV's drafting of published reports with key outputs and recommendations for the European Commission and Member States, notably in view of the PV R&I support framework with the ETIP PV Vision, ETIP PV SRIA and the organisation of the annual ETIP PV Conferences.

The ETIP PV Secretariat has supported the ETIP PV Steering Committee towards reinforcing the platform's impact as the reference body for PV R&I in Europe. The project has ensured that the work of the ETIP PV working groups contribute to this overarching goal: the subjects of quality and reliability, Integrated PV, digitalisation, grid integration, PV integration social considerations and more should also deliver intelligence and recommendations to support the consolidation of the implementation of the ETIP PV Vision. To that end, strong synergies have been built with the European Solar Initiative and other relevant actors at the European level.