On 26 February 2025, the European Commission published its Communication ‘The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation’, a plan to support industry in decarbonisation. The aim of the initiative is to drive competitiveness by giving certainty and predictability to companies and investors. It should help Europe to remain committed to become a decarbonised economy by 2050. The Deal focuses mainly on two closely linked sectors: energy-intensive industries and clean tech. The Clean Industrial Deal is based on 6 pillars::
- Lower energy costs: including an Action Plan on Affordable Energy. An Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act wil follow in the fourth quarter of 2025
- Lead markets: Reach 40% of domestically produced key components of clean tech products on the EU market.
- Mobilising public and private investments: the Commission announces an ‘IPCEI Design Support Hub’ and a Flagship call unter Horizon Europe of € 600 million under the 2026-2027 Work Programme to support fit-for-deployment projects. In 2026, a TechEU investment programme for Scale-ups will follow.
- Circularity and access to materials: Circular Economy Act to be presented in the fourth quarter of 2026.
- Acting on a global scale: a first Clean Trade and Investment Partnership to be started in spring 2025.
- Ensuring access to a skilled workforce: a propsal on a Union of Skills is planned for 5 March 2025, and a Skills Portability Initiative is planned for 2026.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_550