EU industry masterplan - urgently needed

EU industry ministers discuss these days the European #competitiveness. It’s the first time under the auspices of the new Swedish EU #presidency. Basically, Europeans are searching for a coherent reaction to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has re-routed many clean technology related investments to the #US.

According to Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol .: 🛑” This is a pivotal moment for Europe” 🛑. In his recent article in the Financial Times , he elaborates on the global #energycrisis that is threatening Europe’s #industry and could severely undermine its ability to compete on the global stage. In his view, the #IRA is a game changer which requires the EU to reassess its own industrial strategy.

To be honest: a pro-active industrial policy has been missing over many years in Brussels. One of the reasons is definitely that the neo-liberal approach – an unwritten foundation for Commission's (and some member states') policies - forbids anything even close to industrial policy. Also, a number of member states wanted to define their own industrial strategies, tailored to their national profiles not minding the absence of a genuine EU industrial policy. For decades Europe limited its industrial efforts on selecting #research and #innovation topics which barely any follow-up from an industrial side.

Yet, hydrogen is a good example where the Europeans started very early to focus on research and innovation to be used for industry, building up a technology platform called the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. Today it is called the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and manages 2 billion 💶 for innovative #projects, putting Europe into the position to adapt its corresponding #legislative and #fundingopportunity priorities.

In mid 2019 the strategic forum on industrial policy, lead by DG GROW, concluded together with member States, that #Hydrogen was the number 1 topic of strategic importance for future industrial policy.  

However, despite a big launch of an ambitious hydrogen strategy in mid 2020, Europe – while setting valid and important #targets and #objectives - got again lost in cumbersome decision-making processes, discussing good ideas to death, and completely losing out on concrete, tangible, implementation and follow-up. While constantly increasing the targets, nothing happens on the ground.  

But now times have changed, there’s no room anymore for lengthy ideological debates. The most energy intensive sectors are already suffering to shut down operations because of Russia’s war in #Ukraine.

Fatih Birol is absolutely right, Europe needs a master plan for the future that goes beyond theoretical discussion mode, as in the past. It needs to become operational, concretely identifying new sources of competitive advantage, and taking tangible measures of on-the ground support; or risk #deindustrialisation. And having been a front runner for clean energy technologies this is now the chance to perform.

With #offshorewind, Europe has shown that it can be a global leader. With the #batteryalliance, where a physical Commisisoner (rather than the anonymos “college”) put all his energy behind implementing a valid plan, it has demonstrated that it is possible. So why is the European Commission so lame in areas such as #electrolysers for hydrogen, kick-starting #greenhydrogen production and overcoming the chicken-and-egg paralysis by starting to build the initial European hydrogen grid and launching contracts for difference. After all, they were written down already in the EU Hydrogen Strategy in July 2019 as key actions. Three and a half years ago.

The industrial policy on hydrogen is not performing, the EU needs a new effort on implementing its own industrial policy for hydrogen.

The #Swedish presidency could open the door for a new era of an industrial policy, that stops being naive and starts being rational.