In order to better understand the financing problem and to provide possible solutions to it, Commissioners Öttinger and Geoghegan-Quinn, in 2012, requested an expert report on existing and new financial instruments which could be used for the implementation of the SET Plan. Financial instruments are defined by the Financial Regulation as a broad range of non-grant interventions such as loans, guarantees, equity investments, quasi-equity investment and risk-sharing instruments such as credit enhancements for project bonds in the form of a loan or a guarantee. Financial instruments need to demonstrate that they can leverage EU budget with additional funding from private and other sources. They are best suited in areas where projects have revenue-generating capacity. 

The starting point for this report was the research and innovation agenda of the SET Plan European Industrial Initiatives (EIIs) and the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU). The energy technologies considered in this report were: wind, photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, electricity grids, bioenergy, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and fuel cells and nuclear fission. A key element to support the analysis was the organisation of six hearings with key stakeholders representing the SET Plan EIIs and the FCH JU. These hearings enabled in-depth discussions regarding the needs for launching First-Of-A-Kind demonstration projects for the different sectors, the main barriers for their implementation and the gaps as regard access to finance. Summaries of the hearings can be found below.