Brussels, 8 April 2025
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the Clean Tech Conference 2025.
Today is a chance to celebrate Europe’s world-leading clean tech industry. At the Conference you will meet innovators building a more sustainable Europe. You will hear from companies that transform industrial waste into construction materials, and companies that have found groundbreaking solutions to decarbonise our steel and chemical sectors.
All of you here today are proof that Europe’s clean industrial renaissance has begun.
Clean tech is a European success story. But we also know the challenges your businesses are facing: High energy costs, a lack of access to finance, unfair global competition, difficult sourcing of critical raw materials.
If Europe is to continue to lead, then we must act now. And that is what this European Commission is doing. In the last three months, we have delivered ten packages to make Europe more competitive. I want to highlight a few points that are particularly relevant for you.
First, we want to mobilise more funding for innovative companies like yours. This is where we can really beat global competition. Our Innovation Fund has financed many groundbreaking projects – including those we are showcasing today.
But every call of the Fund is heavily oversubscribed, and we have to turn down many good projects. That is why we are now mobilising 100 billion euro. We mobilise these 100 billion euros to increase the fund’s firepower through the creation of an Industrial Decarbonization Bank. To ensure innovative European companies can scale-up into world-beating firms.
Second, we are simplifying rules for business wherever we can. Our omnibus proposals have cut reporting obligations, particularly for small and medium enterprises. For example, we are exempting 90% of importers from CBAM obligations, because they only accounted for 1% of emissions.
We have made permitting more straightforward, so that innovative projects can get off the ground quickly. And we will soon set clear rules for low carbon hydrogen. This will give clarity to the entrepreneurs and investors, working to decarbonise our most energy intensive industries.
Our climate goals remain the same. But we will be more flexible and pragmatic on how we achieve them.
Finally, we are acting to ensure access to critical raw materials. These minerals are the building blocks of the clean transition. Two weeks ago, we announced 47 new strategic projects within the EU. To strengthen Europe’s security of supply.
And we have stepped up cooperation with global partners. We concluded trade agreements with Mercosur, Mexico and Switzerland. We launched the first ever Clean Trade and Investment Partnership with South Africa. We aim at concluding an FTA with India by the end of the year. And we are in intense negotiations with Indonesia and Thailand.
This will help European firms secure the critical raw materials they need. And it sends a very strong message to the world that Europe is open for business.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Cutting-edge clean technologies are vital for climate resilience and the protection of our nature. Ensuring they are developed in Europe is vital for our prosperity. Because clean tech means entrepreneurship. It means high-quality jobs. And it means a better and more sustainable future for all Europeans.
Thank you, and I wish you a productive and successful conference.
Source – EU Commission