Clean Industrial Deal – electrification leading the way to industrial decarbonisation and competitiveness
26 February 2025 at 18:54 EET
The Commission has chosen the right approach: energy-intensive industries and clean energy production must work together, with clean electrification at the core. This synergy is critical for Europe’s competitiveness, decarbonisation, and energy independence.
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission presented its milestone policy package including Clean Industrial Deal that aims to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and accelerate the transition to climate neutrality.
Fortum welcomes the Commission’s aim to encourage the decarbonisation of industries and to strengthen value chains within the EU. Putting industrial decarbonisation through electrification in the center of the Clean Industrial Deal and proposing an electrification target of 32% by 2030 is highly positive.
Moreover, providing a variety of measures supporting both the supply and demand side is the right choice. The proposed Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, aiming at leveraging more than EUR 100 billion investments, has the potential to significantly boost the EU’s efforts to strive climate neutrality through electrification.
We also welcome the Commission’s continued commitment to climate ambition by confirming the intermediate 90% emission reduction target by 2040. Following today's Communication, we are looking forward to a legal proposal on the EU 2040 climate target later this year.
While the Clean Industrial Deal outlines key steps for clean energy and industry, it fails to provide full clarity on the role of all low-carbon technologies, including nuclear, in the EU frameworks. Massive investment decisions in clean energy need to be made within the next few years for industrial decarbonisation projects across Europe. A stable and predictable operating environment is essential to materialise those investments.
Regarding Affordable Energy Action Plan, we concur the market-based approach adopted by the Commission and the acknowledgement of the need to facilitate and de-risk clean energy investments in a technology neutral manner through PPAs, including corporate PPAs. Deploying renewables and low-carbon generation at scale is the best way to secure affordable power prices for households and industries.
However, this is just the beginning - the path ahead remains long. While the package is encouraging in many ways, the real work starts now in defining concrete actions.
