Investments in Greece’s energy sector are expected to reach 32 billion euros by 2030, excluding investments in hydrocarbon research, General Secretary for Energy Michalis Verriopoulos said Tuesday during an event organized by the Energy Institute of Southeastern Europe on technological developments in the sector.

This figure will be included in detail in the energy plan for the period 2020-2030 which will soon be unveiled for public consultation, Verriopoulos said.

Among the goals set in the field of research, technology and innovation – a key parameter in energy planning – are improving energy saving, reducing dependence on coal, digitizing networks and smart networks, introducing new technologies for the transfer and storage of energy, according to ekathimerini.com.

During his speech, Verriopoulos said a key challenge for Greece is the small size of research activity and the small participation of private enterprises in research.

Research spending accounted for 1.01 pct of GDP in 2016, while enterprises’ spending on research was 0.43 pct of GDP. The goal is to boost research spending to 1.25 pct and 0.5 pct, respectively, by 2020.