Supporting the Clean Energy Transition of European Industry and Businesses

Objectives

• The overall objective of this topic is to support the clean energy transition and decarbonisation of industry by bridging the gap between the demand and supply side of net-zero energy technologies as well as by fostering collaborative approaches among companies operating in physical proximity
• Engaging businesses in the clean energy transition and reducing their domestic footprint is central for the European Green Deal and to deliver on the Fit-for-55 package and the REPowerEU Plan to phase-out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels imports. It is also important for the Green Deal Industrial Plan20 and the overall competitiveness of EU enterprises.
• Through the Net-Zero Industry Act, which is part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the European Commission is aiming at increasing the manufacturing capacity of strategic net-zero technologies to meet at least 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs by 2030.
• In 2022, the industry sector made up 25,1% of the total EU-27 final energy consumption out of which energy-intensive companies account for almost 40% of the total industrial final energy consumption. For this reason, modernising and decarbonising the business sector remains a top priority to succeed in the clean energy transition as also highlighted in the Future of European competitiveness report.
• Exposure to energy prices, increased global competition as well as potential transition risks linked to changing regulation, market demand and buyers/suppliers procurement criteria are increasing pressure on EU companies. New business models and financial schemes are needed to be able to adapt in the current energy crisis and take the decision to invest in an energy efficiency or renewable energy project. In this context, the European Commission has recently adopted the Clean Industrial Deal communication along with the Affordable Energy Action Plan with the aim to foster also the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries through the establishment of cooperation initiatives (e.g. at industrial cluster level).

Scope

• Proposals should address only one of the two scopes below. The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal’s introduction.
  • Scope A: Collaboration between industrial sectors and technology providers for clean energy technology optimisation and deployment
    • Proposals under this scope should promote a sustainable and efficient use of energy in a specific industrial sector at European level by facilitating the collaboration between industrial sectors/sub-sectors sharing similar processes and energy related needs with sustainable energy technology manufacturers and providers. Sustainable energy solutions could include among others: renewable energy, heat electrification solutions through the use of heat pumps, and energy efficiency products and processes, including recent innovations ready for market deployment and more in general the renewable energy and energy efficiency related technologies covered by the Net-Zero Industry Act.
    • On the user side, specific industrial sectors could survey their production processes to define a number of standard processes and optimise their operational energy needs through a closer exchange with technology suppliers in order to effectively design sustainable energy solutions. On the provider side, manufacturers and providers could optimise and standardise their existing technological offers, products and solutions to meet the needs of the industrial sector. The goal is to move from custom-built project by project approach for each specific industrial plant and process, to more streamlined, standardised, and even turn-key solutions for industrial clients operating under the same processes. This aligned cooperation for creating demand and ensuring supply can provide decisive support for the decarbonisation of the industrial sector.
    • Proposals are expected to support the establishment of concrete collaboration initiatives, their initial operation and the governance structure. Activities should address the development and validation of business models for the deployment of the specific solutions explored in the sector(s) addressed and, if relevant, capacity building activities for the deployment and installation of the solutions.
    • Proposals should develop a clear strategy to roll out the technical solutions on the targeted industrial sector, including access to public and private finance.
    • Involvement of the relevant representative organisations at national/European level for the user sector(s) and for technology providers is expected as a central feature in order to ensure effective market acceptance and implementation. This involvement may be ensured through participation in the proposal, but also through an active engagement process throughout the project activities. Convincing letters of support are expected to demonstrate interest from the targeted industrial sectors.
    • Proposals should focus on technologies already available on the market and should justify the choice of the targeted sector(s), including a detailed analysis of the barriers and potential solutions. Activities aiming at technological demonstration are not in the scope of this topic. The demonstration of the proposed solutions is not in scope and potential costs for equipment will be eligible only to a very small extent and only if well justified.
  • Scope B: Energy Cooperation among industries in proximity to foster clean, affordable and sustainable energy use
    • Proposals under this scope should foster the market uptake of energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy (and heat pumps where relevant), through industrial energy cooperation approaches among companies that are in physical proximity (region, cluster, industrial park/site).
    • This scope aims to support the development of green regional/local industrial area/clusters, in each participating country targeted by the action addressing, among others, energy-intensive users. Energy cooperation can refer to the process of sharing energy related assets (e.g. renewable energy generation, energy storage), sharing energy services, implementing energy exchanges (e.g. recovery and use of waste heat from industrial and manufacturing processes) as well as incentivise industrial symbiosis and voluntary integration of industrial energy prosumers with system operators (e.g. electricity, heat, hydrogen) and/or energy communities. Clustering of companies can also facilitate better access to finance, ESCO contracts and power purchase agreements.
    • Proposals should facilitate the establishment of energy cooperation mechanisms within the timeframe of the project, including but not limited to identifying, investigating and validating economically viable business models (based on concrete interaction with participating companies), proving the relevance of a collaborative approach in terms of value creation for each involved actor (e.g. buyers/suppliers/final users). Proposals should also work on removing barriers that hinder energy cooperation, e.g. organisational (coordination, trust, responsibilities, data management, risk sharing), legal (identification of update needs or regulatory sandboxes where relevant) or social.
    • Proposals are expected to identify a pipeline of investments covering, among others, the local heat/power networks and other relevant energy infrastructure as previously mentioned, to give long term visibility on the clean energy investment opportunities. Proposals should engage with the key relevant stakeholders (businesses, public authorities, industry park managers, private operators, investors, DSOs, ESCOs etc.) to ensure endorsement of the investments and alignment with local plans and strategies. The engagement process should be clearly outlined and ideally resulting in a mapping of present and future industrial energy needs along with a number of preidentified sustainable energy related infrastructure and services. Applicants are expected to demonstrate a clear support of the key relevant actors for their proposed activities.
    • The proposed approaches should demonstrate a high degree of replicability and proposals should include a clear action plan to communicate experiences, critical success factors and results towards relevant energy cooperation actors and stakeholders across the EU.
    • Proposals for both scopes must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries.

Funding Information

• Available budget: EUR 9 000 000.

Expected Impact

• Proposals should present the concrete results which will be delivered by the activities and demonstrate how these results will contribute to the topic-specific impacts. This demonstration should include a detailed analysis of the starting point and a set of well-substantiated assumptions and establish clear causality links between the results and the expected impact.
• Depending on the scope (A or B) and as relevant, proposals submitted under this topic should demonstrate how they will contribute to:
  • Implementation of EU legislation (in particular Energy Efficiency Directive and Renewable Energy Directive) addressing the business sector.
  • Viable business models either for the deployment of specific solutions or for industrial energy cooperation ready to be rolled out on the market.
  • Industrial actors integrating sustainable energy solutions in their processes.
  • Deployment of energy related infrastructure, energy services, and/or energy exchanges contributing to the clean energy transition of businesses.
  • Sustainable energy technological products adapted to meet industrial processes demands.
  • Accelerate and streamline the identification of projects to foster clean, affordable and sustainable energy use at regional/local level.

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • non-EU countries:
      • listed EEA countries and countries associated to the LIFE Programme
  • the coordinator must be established in an eligible country

For more information, visit EC.