Changes

In the last few decades technology has been becoming more and more accessible, now making its way into the hands of SMEs[[Small and medium-sized Enterprises (SME)]], [[startups]], and eventually consumers. It is a field in which self-taught innovation and small-scale developments have often brought about significant changes in the industry. this is becoming even more frequent now, with a great boom in the number of startups, and [[unicorns]], as well as further digitalisation among smaller businesses. Furthermore, as the world bank has stated,<ref>http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2016/06/20/entrepreneurs-and-small-businesses-spur-economic-growth-and-create-jobs</ref> SMEs and startups are critical to spurring economic growth and are the backbone of many economies.

Another issue with making sustainable technology more accessible to the consumer and to businesses is the lack of easily digestible information available. Often new developments in energy are a result of complex science, which is at first very hard for certain parties to grasp, whereas wind and solar energy, which are both now established forms of sustainable energy are more familiar to consumers and therefore more likely to be appealing when investing in sustainable energy, especially energy possibilities that are a result of SME innovation. As part of [[Horizon 2020 ]] the European Union has recognised the need for consumers needing to be at the heart of the energy discussion and therefore need to be further engaged.<ref>http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/ee-06-2016-2017.html</ref> There also arguably needs to be more discussion between Member States and other European countries regarding knowledge sharing in the area of sustainable energy. This was discussed in the G20 action plan,<ref>https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/g20-energy-ministers-meeting-focuses-sustainable-energy-access-energy-efficiency-and-renewables</ref> but as of yet the EU has not legislated on this.

A further problem that some startups and SMEs face is that of low investment, and while the European Union have tried to combat this with providing access to funds through the [[European Investment Bank (EIB)]], the [[European Investment Fund (EIF)]], and the [[Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) ]] (among others) some small scale businesses struggle to get off their feet in this area, others struggle to compete with larger companies even after they are well-established. On top of this there is a lack of [[venture capital (VC) ]] funding to technology startups in Europe<ref>https://www.ft.com/content/17dc9b52-95eb-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582</ref> both from inside and from outside of the EU. Therefore there perhaps needs to be further encouragement for investment from foreign and European backers in the industry of sustainable energy, especially seeing that a European report recently found that there are significant differences between the access to funding in different Member States.<ref>http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/572687/IPOL_STU(2016)572687_EN.pdf</ref>

Furthermore, [[Fusion for Europe (F4E )]] provides help in the form of grants and procurement contracts for small and medium-sized businesses in the area of research into fusion energy. This is an example of a body set up specifically to provide easier access to development funds in a specific form of sustainable energy – in this case fusion. However, there are few other bodies that provide aid in other forms of energy such as solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy, for instance. Another example, however, is the [[Clean Sky 2 ]] programme, which partners with SMEs involved in aeronautics in order to reduce aircraft emissions by developing innovative technologies to cut CO2 and other greenhouse gases and reduce noise.

However, there are other bodies that are more focused on SMEs across Europe rather than in specific areas. For example, the Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME) provides support in allowing innovative SMEs and startups to grow. The agency runs the Horizon 2020 programme, which help SMEs develop innovative ideas into concrete projects with a European and global impact, as well as running the [[EU programme Programme for the competitiveness Competitiveness of SMEs (COSME)]]. The commission has also delegated much of the LIFE programme – the EU’s funding instrument for environmental and climate action – to EASME, providing a clear link between environmental concern and small-scale enterprises.

In addition to this other programmes such as the [[Eco-Innovation Initiative (EII) ]] and [[Intelligent Energy-Europe]], are also providing information and funding for SMEs in the area of ecological innovation and technology. Therefore one would assume there is a sufficient amount of access to the materials required to grow as an SME in the environmental sector, however, there still doesn’t seem to be enough access to funds from external investors.