To the attention of the Nordic Ministers responsible for Research, to the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Prioritising innovation, technical research, and development in the Nordic recovery plan In our letter 10 steps for the Nordic recovery plan, addressed to your homologues responsible for Industry and Economic Affairs, we stated that the way out of the crisis is to reinforce the Nordic cooperation. This to make the Region a true frontrunner in the green transition and to invest in the innovative solutions leading to building sustainable societies. This green transition cannot take off without innovation. Innovation cannot blossom without research and development, R&D, and commercial scale industrial deployment, which is at the heart of the Nordic welfare model and the Nordic countries' financial success. Therefore, we urge the Nordic Governments to keep at least the same level of investments to R&D as before the Covid-19 crisis. Investments in R&D are crucial in terms of creating new jobs, finding solutions for new production cycles, and increasing labour productivity both in short-and long-term perspectives. We also encourage the Nordic Governments to support the European recovery plan and influence a timely agreement on the European budget, where the financial envelope for R&D is highly prioritised. From previous crisis, we know that R&D activities are at high risk of being slowed down. Industries hit by the crisis are forced to cut on technology development, restructuring and competence enhancement. Many companies use research institutes for their R&D activities, which especially for the technicalindustrial research are mainly project-financed. Lowering R&D activities will also increase the risk of layoffs of many scientists and technologists and have a negative impact on the recovery and green transition. Hence, we call upon national governments to support industries in their efforts towards R&D, by granting industries, especially SMEs an increased tax deduction on R&D expenses. We also ask the Research Ministers to stand for R&D in the Nordic recovery plan and to include innovation as central part in the work programme of the forthcoming Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Dedicated events to investigate opportunities for collaboration and to share Nordic R&D insights should be part of the Presidency programme. Moreover, the next NordForsk proposals should prioritise technical R&D to promote R&D at universities and companies working on new green solutions. In these times, we should dare to prioritise, and see the potential in the solutions that can take us out of the crisis and create a sustainable growth. In our view, there is a need for a coordinated Nordic approach to boost investments in R&D activities in the areas such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Power2X, new renewable battery technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Fifth Generation Communication Technology (5G) and Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology. - Refineries, cement, iron & steel, chemical, waste and bio industries require widespread application of CCS to achieve significant reductions in emissions and prevent carbon leakage. Sweden and Finland are responsible for the largest CO2-emissions from industry in the Nordic region, while Denmark and especially Norway have access to significant offshore storage capacities. The Fullscale CCS project in Norway is a great example, where the R&D investments are needed to turn it into a Nordic-scale project. - A lot of green energy is produced in the Nordic countries, but it is still a global problem to store the green energy in fluid gas, for example used in trucks, trains, and aeroplanes. Power2X1 can be a solution for that and therefore, the investments are needed for R&D activities to foster demonstration and testing possibilities, and upscaling some technologies, such as TRL, where the levels are not mature yet. 1 A priority area also identified by your homologues responsible for the Energy policy: https://www.norden.org/en/news/energy-ministers-greenenergy-conversion-power-new-start-after-covid-19 Association of Nordic Engineers: Kalvebod Brygge 31-33: DK-1780 København V: Tlf.: +45 29 74 39 60: www.nordicengineers.org: ipo@ida.dk
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