Energy and Industry Geography Lab launches to decarbonise EU economy
The Energy and Industry Geography Lab launched by the European Commission is expected to help speed up the decarbonisation of the bloc’s power sector and economies through the use of data-driven solutions and open data sharing.
Regulators and energy sector players will leverage the tool to access geospatial information related to infrastructure deployment and management in planning project implementation and policy enactment.
The tool will provide planners and regulators with information including where to find clean energy, if the necessary infrastructure is in place, or whether there is land available for the installation of renewable energies.
The tool also comprises socio-economic information and geospatial data regarding the work conducted by the Commission and third parties.
The platform was developed in partnership with the European Commission’s Joint Research Center and industry stakeholders to support the implementation of the Common Industrial Technology Roadmap which aims to close the technology innovation gap amongst EU member states.
The roadmap brings together member countries, utilities, academia, research institutions and technology firms to co-conduct research and development of low-carbon solutions that can help decarbonise industries and contribute to the bloc’s achievement of climate mitigation goals.
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The launch comes at a time when the European Commission is seeking to help its member countries to expand their renewable energy capacity for energy security and decarbonisation.
Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, said: “Science and technology will help us to tackle concretely the ongoing global threats and challenges, such as the green and digital transitions. For the time, data on energy and industrial infrastructure have been brought together in a single map and for free, to better plan for decarbonisation we all need to achieve the European Green Deal.”
Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “For the green transition to bring genuinely sustainable competitiveness, the industry needs access to abundant, affordable and decarbonised electricity, and additional efforts are required in this regard. The energy and industry geography, policymakers and national authorities to plan the key changes needed to decarbonise the economy and shape industrial ecosystems on the road to a climate-neutral transition.”
