The European Union will invest an additional 50 billion euros (about US$75 billion) in energy technology, according to information from the two-day EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan conference, which began in Stockholm on Wednesday.

"The (European) Commission estimates that an additional investment of 50 billion euros in energy technology research will be needed over the next 10 years. This means almost tripling the annual investment in the European Union, from 3 to 8 billion euros," said Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for Science and Research.

Organized by the Swedish Energy Agency in collaboration with the European Commission, the EU's Strategic Energy Technology Plan will accelerate the development and deployment of cost-effective low carbon technologies.

During the conference, topics relating to bio-energy, carbon capture and storage, solar power, energy efficiency-smart cities, smart grids, wind power and nuclear energy will be discussed.

The European Commission has recently presented a Communication on "Investing in the development of low-carbon energy technologies," said the EU Presidency Sweden on its official website, adding that the EU's ambition is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60-80 percent by 2050.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2009)