The European Commission has published its new overarching growth strategy “The Clean Industrial Deal”, supported by an “Action Plan on Affordable Energy”, intended to accelerate electrification, reduce energy costs and speed up structural reforms.
The Clean Industrial Deal integrates climate action and competitiveness in an overarching growth strategy intended to ensure “a sustainable future for manufacturing in Europe – economically, environmentally and socially”.
Together they are likely to strongly impact the future markets for energy and innovative grid technologies. The strategy suggests an intermediate greenhouse gas reduction target of 90%, stating that “this will be achieved by nurturing competitive manufacturers who drive decarbonisation through innovation”.
SuperNode Chief Public Affairs Officer, Christian Kjaer, said: “The European Commission must be commended for its strong focus on electrification. It has rightly recognised that access to indigenous, renewable electricity, delivered through a rapidly expanding, interconnected, modern grid, is a precondition for a competitive Europe. For SuperNode, a manufacturer of innovative high-capacity grid technology, the European Commission’s focus on grids, manufacturing, innovation, circularity and scale-up are highly welcome. I hope that focus will be maintained in the upcoming proposals”.
In CurrENT’s response, Secretary General Layla Sawyer welcomed the plan’s commitment to accelerating the deployment of innovation. Sawyer added: “The Affordable Energy Action Plan also rightly recognizes that innovative grid technologies are not yet widely deployed, even though they can save hundreds of billions of euros for European citizens.”
The Clean Industrial Deal sets two Key Performance Indicators: Increasing electrification from 21.3% to 32% in 2030 and annual installations of renewable electricity capacity of 100 GW annually from 2030. It also places access to affordable energy and achieving a genuine energy union through accelerated grid integration, at the centre of its strategy to strengthen its global competitiveness:
“To reduce energy costs in the EU, we need to accelerate electrification, and the transition to clean, domestically generated energy, complete our internal energy market with physical interconnections, and use energy more efficiently. We need to deliver on a genuine Energy Union that benefits all”.
A European Grids Package to be proposed in 2026, will include legislation to ensure cross-border integrated grid planning and a new Competitiveness Fund will be created, focusing on “projects with European added value, such as clean tech, (…) EU funding will provide significant further investments in infrastructure and connectivity to complete the Energy Union”.
The Commission will introduce measures to enhance circularity of Europe’s industrial products and work with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to deploy a new TechEU investment programme “to help bridge the financing gap to support disruptive innovation, strengthen Europe’s industrial capacity and scale-up companies which invest in innovative technologies”.
Christian Kjaer, SuperNode said: “The Commission has provided an escape route out of Europe’s competitive disadvantage, through an aggressive overhaul of Europe’s energy market. It will not be achieved without significant changes to the governance framework for pan-European grid planning, and the development of new, credible energy scenarios that meet all policy objectives.”
The Clean Industrial Deal will be followed up by numerous legislative and nonlegislative initiatives in the coming months.
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