Future Cleantech Architects’ new report provides policymakers with an analysis of the updated NECPs of ten member states – Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, and the Netherlands – with a specific focus on how the 5% target of innovative renewables introduced during the revision Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) is interpreted and operationalized.
The revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) introduces an important innovation lever: over the period from January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2030, member states are expected to ensure that at least 5% of newly installed renewable electricity capacity contributes to the integration of innovative renewable energy technologies. While this provision establishes an indicative objective rather than a binding quantitative obligation, it represents a significant opportunity to accelerate the deployment of next-generation renewable technologies essential for the EU’s long-term climate and energy goals.
Future Cleantech Architects (FCA) has analyzed the updated NECPs of ten member states – Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, and the Netherlands – with a specific focus on how this 5% target is interpreted and operationalized.
The analysis finds that seven countries explicitly reference the target in their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) (if we count Italy and its capacity-based gigawatt [GW] objective), but only four provide any operational detail. Therefore, it is still necessary for the European Commission to offer comprehensive guidance to help member states achieve the target in an integrated, strategic way for the EU. In its July 2025 assessment, the Commission noted that only ten out of the 27 Member States had referred to the target.
Only seven of the ten analyzed NECPs explicitly mention the 5% objective. Only four outline how it might be achieved, and even in these cases, structured deployment plans, capacity volumes, timelines, measures, and clear monitoring approaches are largely absent. In the European Commission’s assessment of NECPs, only 10 out of 27 member states have included the target.
Neither the NECPs nor existing EU guidance provide a harmonized interpretation of what qualifies as an innovative renewable energy technology. As a result, some member states classify relatively mature technologies (such as large heat pumps or conventional Power-to-X (PtX)) as “innovative,” while higher-risk, early-stage technologies are rarely addressed.
NECPs focus primarily on 2030, with minimal linkage between innovative renewables and long-term decarbonization pathways toward 2040 and 2050. This risks underinvesting in the cleantech needed for decarbonization beyond 2030.
Technologies identified by FCA as innovative, such as concentrated solar power (CSP), perovskite and organic photovoltaic (PV), next-generation (enhanced, closed-loop, ultra-deep) geothermal, wave and tidal stream, ocean thermal energy conversion, salinity gradient, and airborne wind, are rarely mentioned in the NECPs and almost never linked to quantified deployment objectives.
The full implementation of the 5% requirement would imply more than 25 GW of innovative renewable capacity by 2030 across the ten countries analyzed alone. Today, this potential is not reflected in the NECPs, nor embedded in a coherent policy and governance framework.
With a proposal for a new EU renewable energy framework announced or Q3 2026, the European Commission has a unique opportunity to transform the 5% target from a symbolic provision into a central pillar for scaling next-generation renewable technologies.
FCA therefore proposes four concrete actions:
- – Clarify what qualifies as “innovative renewable energy technologies” through EU-level guidance.
- – Embed a dedicated and standardized section on the 5% target in NECP templates and related guidance, enabling transparent and comparable reporting.
- – Strengthen the role of the 5% objective in the post-2030 renewable energy framework, including consideration of a more binding approach, accompanied by an evolving indicative technology list.
- – Align EU and national funding instruments with the 5% objective, including explicit recognition in major EU programs.