Hydrogen Europe and seven other leading European trade associations have sent a joint letter to EU leaders calling for “urgent and comprehensive action” from the Commission and Member States to ensure Europe’s competitiveness in the global clean technology race.

With heavy competition from the US and China, the signatories of the letter seek to avoid a repeat of the solar PV revolution of last decade, where Europe’s head start in the sector’s innovation was overtaken and overrun by cheaper products made abroad.

To that end, the signatories have called for a “real and tangible industrial policy” covering the entire supply chain – from mining and extraction, manufacturing, and processing, to end-use and export. Specifically, we want the next European Commission to deliver an “EU Clean Industrial Deal” competitiveness package in its first 100 days of office, with an equivalent overarching policy scope to the EU Green Deal.

The letter proposes five pillars of this new plan: new and agile EU-level finance; fast-track permitting for production and deployment; competitive energy prices; a level playing field for open strategic autonomy; and appropriate market incentives.

With a narrowing window of opportunity to preserve Europe’s position as a leading global clean tech provider, and with the energy transition a crucial EU objective, taking action and forming this new industrial policy is absolutely paramount.

Click here to read the joint statement