The EU has unveiled its Clean Industrial Plan as the bloc’s business plan to boost its competitiveness
It comprises plans to establish an Industrial Decarbonization Bank to mobilize over €100 billion for clean technology manufacturing
The aim will be to reach 40% of domestically produced key components of clean tech products on the EU market
The European Commission has formally launched the bloc’s Clean Industrial Deal plan to drive energy transition through support for cleantech manufacturing and the decarbonization of energy-intensive industries.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the plan aims to do away with the obstacles such as high energy prices and excessive regulatory burden, to boost the bloc’s competitiveness and decarbonization.
This business plan will help mobilize over €100 billion to support EU-made clean manufacturing, including an additional €1 billion in guarantees under the current Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF). For this, it will establish an Industrial Decarbonization Bank using available funds in the Innovation Fund and other instruments.
It will introduce resilience, sustainability and European preference criteria in EU public procurement for strategic sectors to boost demand for locally manufactured clean technology products among the energy-intensive sectors. The idea is to reach 40% of domestically produced key components of cleantech products on the EU market.
Under the Action Plan for Affordable Energy, the EU will target to install 100 GW of renewable electricity annually until 2030 and increase economy-wide electrification rate from 21.3% to 32% in 2030. By making power purchase agreements (PPA) more attractive for industrial users, it will lower energy costs for businesses as well as citizens.
The EU will target the largest possible share of the global market for clean technologies worth $2 trillion in 2035. It also plans to address global overcapacities being redirected to the EU market through intensified international and multilateral cooperation.
“As a key component of the Clean Industrial Deal, this Plan will not only bring relief to households facing high energy bills, but also to industries that struggle with high production costs, with estimated overall savings of €45 billion in 2025, that will progressively increase until €130 billion in annual savings by 2030 and €260 billion by 2040," shares the commission.
One of the key elements of the action plan is to break down complex regulations and administrative barriers by speeding up permitting for industrial decarbonization projects, and simplifying state aid rules by 2025 to accelerate clean energy roll-out and support industrial decarbonization.
“The Clean Industrial Deal is our business plan: a decarbonisation strategy that re-industrialises Europe, driving competitiveness and boosting strategic independence,” said the Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra.
The detailed Clean Industrial Plan is available on the commission’s website.
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