Historical Background of ITRE Technological innovation in the energy sector: transitioning towards a sustainable Europe. With the transformation within Europe’s energy systems from conventional to renewable power potentially taking decades, investments in research and development are key to facilitating and expediting the process. What steps should be taken to promote innovation and provide the best conditions for this transition to occur? Energy supply became increasingly relevant in the 20th century. From the US-Saudi of 1931 to the 1973 oil crisis, the West became increasingly vulnerable towards international players because of its dependency on energy imports. Especially important in the European context is the politicized relationship between EU and Russia. The 2014 Ukraine Crisis was a reminder to the EU of its energy dependence on Russia. The Russian annexation of Crimea sparked a revival of energy-security concerns in the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). However, NATO and EU borders have moved eastwards and all CEEC and some former Soviet republics are members of both the EU and NATO. At the same time, Russia attempts to profit from combining economic and geopolitical goals, as during the Cold War. EU and Russia have opposing interests in who shall benefit from energy trade and opposing views on how energy policies should be designed and work.
European perspectives on the global energy landscape are influenced by elements such as the Ukrainian crisis, security-of-energy-supply, instabilities in the Middle East, volatile oil prices, and the U.S. shale oil and gas revolution. Liquefied natural gas is about to become a game changer for incumbent major European natural gas suppliers Russia, Norway and Algeria. Cheaper and more flexible supplies challenge costly Arctic petroleum developments as well as the potential for piped gas from Central Asia and the Middle East. These forces are, together with more renewable sources and improved energy efficiency, causing European geopolitics of energy to change more rapidly than ever before.