1. Most relevant PV funding topics
*not relevant: -, interested: +, important: ++, very important: +++
Remarks:
In the Netherlands, innovation policy as of 2020 has shifted from technology oriented towards mission oriented. The innovation policy has always been “technology neutral” preferring the most effective and affordable technology routes in which solar PV has come to play a leading role compared to other renewable energy sources. The central societal mission “energy transition and sustainability” entails a decrease of emissions by 49% in 2030 and 95% in 2050 and a 100% clean electricity system. These missions are detailed in the Netherlands by; energy on land, water, build environment, industry, agricultural and transportation systems. Solar PV can be found in each and every mission program in an integrated way and in more or less quantity.
Therefore the solar PV topics as mentioned above by the IWG do not line up with the Dutch categories and for example the topics 3, 4 and 5 are integrated in the detailed mission programs with a relation to topic 1 and 2 if required. A distinction is also made on which time scale the innovations contribute to the national climate goals, which in practice means a preference for innovations that become already mature by 2025 or 2030 and thus can contribute substantially more to the climate goals.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate funds RD&I projects first in the mission oriented programs in which subsequently specific topics for solar PV are articulated. For example in the mission program “on land” (42 TWH in 2030) there are solar specific targets for cost reductions and performance improvement alongside integration of solar panels into the buildings, infrastructure, vehicles, agriculture, landscape and floating systems. Additional and more detailed topics are flexibility of size, shape and color, light weight panels and transparency.
General topics are circularity, system integration and social acceptability which align with the above mentioned topics but are set in a specific context.
In the other mission programs there is also room for solar PV but on a much smaller scale.
In general one could say that because of the population density and intense, multifunctional land use in the Netherlands, the role of the solar PV end product in society does not compare well with many other European member states and resembles also the innovation dynamics in similar geographies in the world. Therefore the priority in the list above is given to topic 3 while the others remain also important.
