The Cleantech Reality Check series, developed by Breakthrough Energy in partnership with Cleantech for Europe, and featuring analyses by Systemiq, takes a hard look at the numbers, concluding EU cleantech manufacturing is at risk of going into reverse.
As the EU prepares to launch its Clean Industrial Deal next week, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Europe’s cleantech manufacturing base. Batteries, green steel, and electrolysers are critical for reaching energy independence, and securing industrial competitiveness. But are we on track?
Taken together, these reports provide a top-line view of where key sectors are progressing, at risk, or already falling behind. They review the enablers, barriers, and action agenda for select technologies and sectors that are of strategic importance to Europe’s industrial future.
- The Electrification report covers electrified industrial heat, long duration energy storage, and grids.
- The Renewable Hydrogen report covers aviation, maritime and refineries.
- The Revitalising Manufacturing in Europe report covers steel, battery manufacturing and electrolyser manufacturing.
Renewable hydrogen is an emerging clean technology that has dominated EU political discourse and attention for several years, and where European ambition is epitomised by some of the world’s boldest targets. In an effort to not only offer the latest critical data points pertaining to Europe’s overall performance on hydrogen but also shed light on its end use in key markets, we include deep dives on shipping, aviation and refineries.
Europe routinely speaks about ‘electrificaton’ as if it is happening. But data tells a diferent story: demand is flat – and has been for years. The much-touted electrificaton revoluton in Europe is failing to materialise. EU policy makers need to connect the dots between a volatile energy system, squeezed industry, and the clean technology enablers that can provide solutons to both – such as Long Duration Energy Storage to absorb and use these clean electrons at all times, and Thermal Energy Storage to electrify Industrial Heat as flexible demand.
In this third series of our Cleantech Reality Check, we home in on three sectors of critical importance for Europe’s – old and new – industrial base. In the former camp, we analyse steelmaking, long a pillar of Europe’s industrial heritage, which faces a dual challenge: enhancing productivity in an intensely competitive global market that suffers from overcapacity, while also cutting emissions. In the latter category, we examine batteries and electrolysers, two pivotal clean technologies vital to the world’s green transition and Europe’s competitiveness agenda, both of which are scaling far too slowly to meet ambitious targets and build out global market share.
