Cleantech for Europe‘s Policy Update: Fresh format, same mission
March 1, 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of Cleantech for Europe’s Policy Update, your one-stop-shop for EU cleantech policy news and analysis. In the first Policy Update of 2025 we explore the potential impact of the Clean Industrial Deal on EU’s cleantech manufacturing sector, revised State Aid rules, and how the Savings & Investment Union could unlock billions for cleantech scale-up:
1. The Clean Industrial Deal
2. The Savings & Investment Union
3. CISAF - State Aid
4. The Relaunch of The Cleantech Friendship Group in European Parliament
5. Ecosystem news
6. What we have been reading/listening to
End of February the European Commission launched its flagship Clean Industrial Deal (CID), a strategic initiative aimed at decarbonizing industries while enhancing the EU’s global competitiveness. This plan prioritizes reducing energy costs, supporting clean technologies, and establishing a sustainable industrial framework. Ahead of the formal announcement, Cleantech for Europe alongside a network of regional partners published an open letter to the Commission signed by over 100 EU cleantech leaders and investors outlining our key priorities, which is available here. We are pleased to see that many of our proposals have been included and welcome these measures as progress toward Europe’s net-zero and economic competitiveness objectives.
Key Highlights from the CID:
1. Affordable Energy Access
a. EIB Support: A €500M pilot guarantee for SMEs and energy-intensive industries to secure Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), plus a €1.5B guarantee for grid component manufacturers.
b. PPAs & CfDs Guidance: The Commission will provide guidance on combining these tools under state aid rules.
2. Boosting Clean Supply & Demand
a. Public Procurement: A 2026 revision will introduce sustainability, resilience, and EU content criteria.
b. Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act (IDAA): New rules favor low-carbon products in procurement, starting with steel (2025) and cement.
c. Hydrogen Promotion: A €1B Hydrogen Bank call and new regulations on low-carbon hydrogen and e-fuels in maritime and aviation.
3. Public & Private Investments
a. InvestEU Boost: €50B additional financing, including an EIB Clean Tech Guarantee Facility.
b. Innovation Fund Expansion: Streamlined funding and simplified state aid approval for key projects.
c. Industrial Decarbonisation Bank: A proposed €100B fund drawing from ETS, InvestEU, and the Innovation Fund.
4. State Aid & Support
a. Extended Planning: Clean Industry State Aid Framework (CISAF) will support cleantech projects until 2030.
b. Regulatory Updates: Reviews of state aid rules on guarantees to speed up project approvals.
c. Tax Incentives: Encouraging clean investments through tax credits and shorter depreciation periods.
5. Circular Economy Initiatives
a. Critical Raw Materials Act: A list of 47 strategic projects has been published (here) to secure and diversify access to raw materials in the EU.
b. Circular Economy Act (2026): Aims to make recycling more attractive, reducing landfill waste and exports.
c. New IPCEI Proposal: Focused on circular materials for clean technologies.
6. Global Markets & Partnerships
a. CBAM Simplification: Reducing obligations for SMEs while maintaining its effectiveness without modifying the overall application timeline.
Key Uncertainties & Risks
The European Commission has launched in March the Savings and Investment Union (SIU) to mobilize private capital for industrial decarbonization and cleantech scale-up, serving as the financial backbone of the CID. A rebranding of the Capital Markets Union, the SIU aims to channel some of Europe's €37 trillion in private wealth into strategic investments such as cleantech, addressing the persistent funding gap for early-stage ventures.
Key Measures
A Critical Step Amid Growing Fiscal Pressures
With mounting defense spending under Readiness 2030 and SAFE, unlocking private capital for cleantech scale-up is more urgent than ever. The SIU is a step in the right direction, but effective implementation will be key to ensuring a meaningful impact on Europe’s industrial transformation.
🔗 Read more: European Commission's SIU Strategy
As part of the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Commission has proposed a new draft Clean Industrial State Aid Framework (CISAF) to simplify state aid rules and better align them with Europe’s net-zero ambitions. The framework aims to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy, advance industrial decarbonisation, and scale up clean technology manufacturing in Europe.
CISAF will replace the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), introduced in 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unlike its predecessor, CISAF is designed as a longer-term framework, in force until 31 December 2030, offering greater predictability for public authorities and industry.
The draft sets out rules for four types of state aid measures:
Key highlights:
A public consultation is open until 24 April 2025, and the Commission aims to adopt the final framework by June 2025.
We’d love to hear from you — if you’re active in clean industry and have views on how state aid can better support scale-up, get in touch.
🔗 Read more: European Commissionpage on the Draft CISAF
The Relaunch of The Cleantech Friendship Group in European Parliament
The Cleantech Friendship Group, a forum within the European Parliament was relaunched with the participation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Cleantech Leaders.
Bringing together 32 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from across the political spectrum and representing 14 EU Member States, the Cleantech Friendship Group (CFG) advocates for policies that create strong demand for clean technologies, including setting technology-specific targets, sustainable public procurement, level-playing field measures, and large-scale strategic investments to drive Europe’s clean industrial revolution.
President Von der Leyen presence was the highlight of the event. She addressed the gathering with a keynote speech, emphasizing the European Commission’s steadfast commitment to supporting cleantech innovation and industrial transformation. “The Clean Industrial Deal is a key pillar of our competitiveness-driven approach to decarbonisation, providing EU cleantech companies the certainty and targeted support they need to scale up and industrialise,” said President Von der Leyen. “My colleagues and I at the Commission will work closely with the Parliament to pass an ambitious Clean Industrial Deal and secure Europe’s leadership in the industries of the future.”
The co-chairs MEP Lídia Pereira (EPP, Portugal) and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (S&D, France) underscored the group’s role in advancing policies to drive Europe’s leadership in clean technology, energy autonomy, and economic competitiveness. “The re-launch of the CFG sends a strong message to our domestic cleantech sector, that Europe is united in its ambition to lead the global cleantech revolution,” commented Lídia Pereira.
The event also featured contributions from leading investors and industry innovators, reinforcing the crucial role of public-private collaboration in accelerating Europe’s transition to a sustainable economy.
“In the face of worsening effects of climate change and energy security threats affecting Europe’s industries, the cleantech transition is not just an environmental imperative, but also an industrial necessity,” said co-chair MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin.
47 Strategic Projects Selected for EU Critical Raw Materials Resilience
In March, the European Commission announced the first list of 47 projects granted “Strategic” status under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Spread across 13 EU Member States, the projects cover extraction, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials (CRM). These projects will benefit from streamlined permitting (within 15 months) and easier access to financing, including €2 billion earmarked by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Notably, only projects within the EU were included in this first wave; applications from third countries will be assessed later. This sends a strong signal that the Commission sees domestic capacity as the backbone of resilience — but future decisions on external projects will reveal how this approach extends to strategic partners abroad.
€70 Million in Blended Finance for the Commercial Liftoff of Synthetic Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Ineratec secured €70 million in public-private support to build Europe’s first commercial-scale e-fuel production plant in Frankfurt. The funding combines a €30 million grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and a €40 million loan from the EIB. The project aims to produce up to 2,500 tonnes of e-fuels and e-chemicals annually — a critical step as Europe works to meet RefuelEU Aviation’s e-SAF blending mandate. The deal showcases how blended finance can unlock first-of-a-kind (FOAK) clean industrial projects, but also highlights the need for significantly scaled-up EU instruments to de-risk later-stage cleantech manufacturing and crowd in private capital.
Reverion Wins Innovation Fund Backing for Solid Oxide Power Plants
Reverion has been awarded €19.5 million from the EU Innovation Fund to expand its Eresing facility and scale up production of its high-efficiency, reversible Solid Oxide Cell power plants. These containerized systems can switch between power generation and energy storage, and can even capture and store CO₂ when producing power from biogas. With electrical efficiency reaching up to 80%, Reverion’s technology far exceeds conventional systems. The project, named RESILIENCE, will boost local manufacturing capacity, create jobs, and help decarbonize Europe’s biogas sector — with retrofit potential across more than 20,000 existing biogas plants.
Cleantech venture-capital 2150 raises EUR 200M for a Fund II
2150, with offices in London, Berlin, Oslo and Copenhagen, closed in March almost €200m for Fund II.(The new Fund, which is 75% of the size of Fund I, has already led or co-led three investments. Similar to Fund I, 2150 will build a portfolio of 20+ investments across North America and Europe with a core focus on Series A, and initial check size remaining €3-15M.
The International Energy Agency released in March its Global Energy Review 2025, a comprehensive depiction of the trends which shaped energy sector in 2024. In a nutshell, in 2024 global energy demand grew by over 2%, with fossil fuels remaining the primary driver. However, electricity demand surged ahead, expanding twice as fast as overall energy demand, driven by electrification, data centers, and EVs. Nearly all of the rise in electricity demand was met by low-emissions sources. Despite the rapid adoption of clean energy technologies, CO2 emissions still increased, though at a slower pace than in 2023.
🔗 Read more: European Commissionpage on the Draft CISAF
The Cleantech Friendship Group, a forum within the European Parliament was relaunched with the participation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Cleantech Leaders.
Bringing together 32 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from across the political spectrum and representing 14 EU Member States, the Cleantech Friendship Group (CFG) advocates for policies that create strong demand for clean technologies, including setting technology-specific targets, sustainable public procurement, level-playing field measures, and large-scale strategic investments to drive Europe’s clean industrial revolution.
President Von der Leyen presence was the highlight of the event. She addressed the gathering with a keynote speech, emphasizing the European Commission’s steadfast commitment to supporting cleantech innovation and industrial transformation. “The Clean Industrial Deal is a key pillar of our competitiveness-driven approach to decarbonisation, providing EU cleantech companies the certainty and targeted support they need to scale up and industrialise,” said President Von der Leyen. “My colleagues and I at the Commission will work closely with the Parliament to pass an ambitious Clean Industrial Deal and secure Europe’s leadership in the industries of the future.”
The co-chairs MEP Lídia Pereira (EPP, Portugal) and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (S&D, France) underscored the group’s role in advancing policies to drive Europe’s leadership in clean technology, energy autonomy, and economic competitiveness. “The re-launch of the CFG sends a strong message to our domestic cleantech sector, that Europe is united in its ambition to lead the global cleantech revolution,” commented Lídia Pereira.
The event also featured contributions from leading investors and industry innovators, reinforcing the crucial role of public-private collaboration in accelerating Europe’s transition to a sustainable economy.
“In the face of worsening effects of climate change and energy security threats affecting Europe’s industries, the cleantech transition is not just an environmental imperative, but also an industrial necessity,” said co-chair MEP Thomas Pellerin-Carlin.
47 Strategic Projects Selected for EU Critical Raw Materials Resilience
In March, the European Commission announced the first list of 47 projects granted “Strategic” status under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). Spread across 13 EU Member States, the projects cover extraction, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials (CRM). These projects will benefit from streamlined permitting (within 15 months) and easier access to financing, including €2 billion earmarked by the European Investment Bank (EIB). Notably, only projects within the EU were included in this first wave; applications from third countries will be assessed later. This sends a strong signal that the Commission sees domestic capacity as the backbone of resilience — but future decisions on external projects will reveal how this approach extends to strategic partners abroad.
€70 Million in Blended Finance for the Commercial Liftoff of Synthetic Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Ineratec secured €70 million in public-private support to build Europe’s first commercial-scale e-fuel production plant in Frankfurt. The funding combines a €30 million grant from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and a €40 million loan from the EIB. The project aims to produce up to 2,500 tonnes of e-fuels and e-chemicals annually — a critical step as Europe works to meet RefuelEU Aviation’s e-SAF blending mandate. The deal showcases how blended finance can unlock first-of-a-kind (FOAK) clean industrial projects, but also highlights the need for significantly scaled-up EU instruments to de-risk later-stage cleantech manufacturing and crowd in private capital.
Reverion Wins Innovation Fund Backing for Solid Oxide Power Plants
Reverion has been awarded €19.5 million from the EU Innovation Fund to expand its Eresing facility and scale up production of its high-efficiency, reversible Solid Oxide Cell power plants. These containerized systems can switch between power generation and energy storage, and can even capture and store CO₂ when producing power from biogas. With electrical efficiency reaching up to 80%, Reverion’s technology far exceeds conventional systems. The project, named RESILIENCE, will boost local manufacturing capacity, create jobs, and help decarbonize Europe’s biogas sector — with retrofit potential across more than 20,000 existing biogas plants.
Cleantech venture-capital 2150 raises EUR 200M for a Fund II
2150, with offices in London, Berlin, Oslo and Copenhagen, closed in March almost €200m for Fund II.(The new Fund, which is 75% of the size of Fund I, has already led or co-led three investments. Similar to Fund I, 2150 will build a portfolio of 20+ investments across North America and Europe with a core focus on Series A, and initial check size remaining €3-15M.
The International Energy Agency released in March its Global Energy Review 2025, a comprehensive depiction of the trends which shaped energy sector in 2024. In a nutshell, in 2024 global energy demand grew by over 2%, with fossil fuels remaining the primary driver. However, electricity demand surged ahead, expanding twice as fast as overall energy demand, driven by electrification, data centers, and EVs. Nearly all of the rise in electricity demand was met by low-emissions sources. Despite the rapid adoption of clean energy technologies, CO2 emissions still increased, though at a slower pace than in 2023.
