Cleantech Leaders Call for Swift Action on EU Competitiveness in Brussels
October 1, 2024
On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the annual Cleantech for Europe Summit returned to Brussels. This year’s event brought together leaders in policy, cleantech and investment, and focused on how to urgently scale Europe’s cleantech manufacturing sector. As highlighted in Mario Draghi’s recent report, massively scaling and investing in cleantech is crucial to the EU’s long-term economic competitiveness.
The event opened with a keynote by European Parliament Vice-President Martin Hojsík who highlighted the urgency to move from words to action on scaling Europe’s domestic cleantech manufacturing sector.
“We need to combine the right legislative framework with an enabling funding environment, as well as top-tier education. This way, Europe can gain leadership in scaling and deploying clean technologies.
Martin Hojsík, Vice-President, European Parliament
Cleantech and political leaders shared their insights on how to best implement the ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ announced in President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines.
“Cleantech for Europe Summit proved the cleantech industry stands ready to power Europe’s competitiveness, but we urgently need a comprehensive industrial and trade policy to match our global peers.”
Jules Besnainou, Executive Director, Cleantech for Europe
Cleantech for Europe also announced that eleven of Europe’s most innovative cleantech companies have joined its Scale-up Coalition. For the full list of companies joining the Scale-up Coalition, please see the bottom of the email.
Cleantech for Europe’s Scale-up Coalition, now 22 members strong, convenes some of the continent’s most promising cleantech scaleups. Collectively, this coalition represents the next generation of European Industry, including leading companies like Stegra, building Europe’s first green steel plant.
“Europe´s competitiveness hinges on better collaboration between cleantech and policy leaders. Together we can decarbonize key sectors, such as steel, by establishing an enabling policy environment.”
Maria Persson Gulda, CTO, Stegra
While Europe is well-equipped to finance new technologies at the early stages, both public and private capital are lacking to industrialise these technologies at climate-relevant scale. Cleantech for Europe – alongside its Investor and Scale-up Coalitions – will continue to advocate for ambitious industrial and trade policies to match global peers, with the aim of ushering in a new era of European competitiveness and prosperity.
If you have any further questions, or would like further information, please reach out to Zach Sporn, Director of Communications for Cleantech for Europe at zach.sporn@cleantech.com.
Launched in 2021, Cleantech for Europe represents the trailblazers developing, deploying and investing in clean technologies across the EU. Our mission is to make cleantech a strategic priority in the EU, by bridging the gap between cleantech and policy leaders.The initiative equips policymakers with insights about cleantech and builds coalitions to chart a new path for the continent. Additionally, Cleantech for Europe spearheads the work of a broader ecosystem of national and regional initiatives, focused on the needs of cleantech communities across the EU. This includes regional cleantech initiatives in the Baltics, France, Germany, the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, the Nordics, and the UK.
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