Joint call for an ambitious and comprehensive EU Industrial Strategy to enable industry’s contribution to the EU long-term GHG goals

Eurelectric and Energy-Intensive industries call for an ambitious and comprehensive EU Industrial Strategy to enable industry’s contribution to the EU long-term GHG goals.

Europe’s Energy-Intensive (EIIs) and Electricity industries have responded to the European Commission’s call for contribution to the EU Long Term Strategy by commissioning or carrying out and publishing two critical reports, examining and explaining pathways and scenarios for long-term EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in industry and power generation to enable the low-carbon transition.

Taken together, the report from VUB/IES commissioned by the EIIs and the report from Eurelectric with analytical support from McKinsey give unique insights into the untapped potential, but also the very real challenges, of the deep industrial and energy transition that are central to the EU strategy.

They describe a wide range of technology pathways for GHG emissions reduction for industry and power production, also the likely demand for critical resources and infrastructure for the level of deployment of these technologies required for the achievement of a net-zero emission economy by 2050.

They furthermore describe scenarios for power demand across an increasingly electrified EU industry. The two studies show that low carbon & carbon-free electricity is, by a wide margin, the most important resource needed for the GHG emissions reduction strategy of Energy-Intensive Industries.

Full execution of the pathways will require a very substantial increase of the overall amount of electrical power generation in Europe. The implications of this will need to be examined and understood by all stakeholders and to support this, the Energy Intensive and Electricity industries are planning further joint work to develop more detailed demand scenarios leading up to 2050.

Both reports make clear that a new and integrated EU industrial strategy is required to complete a transition to a low-carbon economy in the EU.