On the 3rd September 2008 the Official Journal of the European Union has published the authorisation for State aid pursuant to Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty in a UK cases where the Commission raises no objections. The Commission concludes that the notified State aid (N 593/07) measure, “the Energy Technologies Institute”, is compatible with the common market, pursuant to Article 87(3)(c) of the EC Treaty. It accordingly decided not to raise objections to the notified measure. The date of adoption of the decisión was the 23.6.2008.

The objective of the notified measure is to accelerate the development, demonstration and commercial deployment of energy technologies in order to increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help achieve energy and climate change goals. The measure aims at coordinating R&D efforts by the state and the industry and addressing the barriers to effective deployment of new energy technologies in the UK.

Legal Basis

The legal basis is Section 2 or 5 of the Science and Technology Act 1965, Section 5(2)(a) Regional Development Agencies Act 1998, The Engineering and Physical Science Research Council Royal Charter and the Technology Strategy Board Royal Charter. The key terms of the ETI partnership are set out in Heads of Agreement 2007.

Funding

Total funding of the ETI is GBP 1.1 billion (approx. EUR 1.4 billion). The industry will commit up to GBP 550 million (approx. EUR 693 million) in total, which is going to be matched by the corresponding public funding of GBP 550 million (approx. EUR 693 million) by the state in the form of a grant to the ETI. The ETI will provide funding for technology development in the form of a non-repayable direct grant.

What is the ETI

The Energy Technologies Institute is a public/private partnership whose focus, small size and wide "reach" aims to bring together the knowledge and skills to create and implement practical solutions to energy problems.

The ETI was created to accelerate the development and commercial deployment of a focused portfolio of energy technologies which will increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help to achieve energy and climate change goals.

The ETI has been established for 10 years until 01.03.2018. The 10 year duration is expected to ensure the long-term stability and continuity of research funding.

ETI structure

The ETI partnership is composed of the state (the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills) and the leading international energy companies, such as BP, EDF Energy, E.ON, Shell, Rolls-Royce and Caterpillar (the Industry Members). The UK is seeking up to 11 industry partners to mach the government funding. Any company is free to join the ETI partnership, provided it contributes the required funding.

ETI activities

• Funding R&D.
• Co-funded R&D projects.
• Risk-benefit sharing contract research.
• Exclusive contract research.
• Assigning, protecting and exploiting Arising IP.
• Socio-economic analysis and regulatory standards.