/>iOn February 26, 2025, the European Commission (EC) published a Communication titled “The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation,[1]” encompassing a set of measures with the objective of enhancing competitiveness and resilience of EU industries while advancing decarbonisation. The two key focus areas of the Clean Industrial Deal are energy-intensive industries and the clean-tech sector.
The Deal also emphasizes circular economy principles to reduce reliance on external suppliers for raw materials, ensuring sustainable use of Europe’s limited resources. Importantly, the Clean Industrial Deal confirmed the adoption of the Chemicals Industry Package for the end of 2025. According to the Clean Industrial Deal Communication, the chemical package will “recognise the strategic role of the chemicals sector as ‘industry of industries’ and of critical molecules.”
The main legislative proposals and measures from the Clean Industrial Deal include:
- The Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, to accelerate permitting for industrial access to energy and decarbonisation efforts, including the modernization of steel production facilities. It will also introduce a low-carbon product label for steel and, eventually, cement, enabling companies to benefit from a green premium and providing consumers with information on the carbon intensity of products.
- The revision of the Public Procurement Directive
- The Circular Economy Act, which will establish a Single Market for waste and reusable materials
- A new Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework, to enable faster approval of State aid measures to promote renewable energy deployment, industrial decarbonisation, and ensure adequate manufacturing capacity for clean technologies
- The delegated act on low-carbon hydrogen: This act will define the conditions for producing low-carbon hydrogen in a practical way. It complements the comprehensive regulatory framework on hydrogen, providing industry with greater certainty and predictability, both of which are essential for encouraging investment.
- The strengthening and expansion of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to other ETS sectors and downstream products
The Clean Industrial Deal marks a step for Europe to maintain its industrial strength while driving forward its green transition. The Commission also published a set of Questions and Answers[2] and a Factsheet document[3].
[1] https://commission.europa.eu/
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/
[3] https://ec.europa.eu/
