The Clean Industrial Deal: a driving force for low-carbon industry

The Clean Industrial Deal places decarbonization at the heart of Europe's industrial strategy, to reconcile economic performance with ecological transition.

Clara Godin
Environmental & occupational health & safety lawyer
Update : 
15.10.2025
Publication: 
14.10.2025
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On February 26, 2025, the European Commission presented its Clean Industrial Deal. The aim is to make decarbonization a real driver of growth for Europe, and a source of innovation and competitiveness for European industries. In this article, we present everything you need to know about this new program, its objectives and the consequences for businesses.

What is the Clean Industrial Deal?

The Clean Industrial Deal is a roadmap for the competitiveness and decarbonization of the European Union, presented by the European Commission on February 26, 2025. This program marks a major shift in EU environmental policy. It aims to rebalance the ecological transition around industry and competitiveness.

Behind the Clean Industrial Deal: the Green Pact for Europe

To understand the origins of the Clean Industrial Deal, we need to go back to the introduction of the European GreenDeal in 2019, which aims to make the European Union a low-carbon industry by 2050, with a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a 90% reduction by 2040 .

During the energy crisis of 2022-2023, it became clear that implementing this environmental program could have a major impact on the competitiveness of European industries, particularly in a context of rising energy prices. The EU has therefore decided to adopt new measures to make decarbonization feasible and profitable for European industries, giving them both the industrial and economic means to implement it without affecting their competitiveness.

In short, while the Green Deal sets climate targets for the European Union, the Clean Industrial Deal aims to achieve carbon neutrality for the EU without deindustrializing, to green industry while strengthening its technological and economic sovereignty, and thus to make the EU's ecological transition economically sustainable for European industries.

🔎 Focus
The Clean Industrial Act sets out an overall strategic framework for a clean and competitive European industry. It relies on several legislative tools for its implementation, including the Net-Zero Industry Act, a European law that focuses in particular on strengthening European production of clean technologies (wind, solar, hydrogen, carbon capture, etc.).

What are the objectives and levers of the Clean Industrial Deal?

The Clean Industrial Deal defines a program of concrete actions to make decarbonization a real engine of growth for European industry. To this end, it defines six pillars of action.

1. Reduce energy costs

One of the main aims of the Clean Industrial Deal is to reduce energy costs for manufacturers by facilitating their access to low-carbon energy production. Adopted on February 26, 2025, the Affordable Energy Action Plan aims to provide the means for this transition by activating three main levers: 

  • accelerate the deployment of clean energy (especially renewable energies) and electrification ; 
  • complete the internal energy market through the creation of physical interconnections ;
  • use energy more efficiently: equipment modernization, energy optimization of production lines, etc.

These various measures are designed to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) and thus reduce energy bills for industry, businesses and households in the short term. 

2. Stimulate supply and demand for sustainable products "made in Europe 

The Clean Industrial Deal also aims to increase the supply of and demand for sustainable products in the EU in order to accelerate the ecological transition, strengthen industrial competitiveness and create a more resilient internal market. The aim is to make sustainability a driver of growth and innovation in Europe.

The main lever for this objective is to be a legislative act to accelerate the decarbonization of industry, expected to be adopted in the fourth quarter of 2025. Key measures include: 

  • accelerate the granting of authorizations for industrial access to energy and industrial decarbonization (particularly concerning the modernization of steel production sites);
  • introduce low-carbon product labelling for steel and then cement, the aim being to enable companies to take advantage of the "green premium" and provide consumers with information on the carbon intensity of products;
  • introduce sustainability, resilience and European preference criteria into public and private tenders , to encourage "clean" European supplies for energy-intensive industrial sectors (steel, cement, glass, chemicals, etc.). To this end, the European Commission is planning a revision of the Public Procurement Directive.

3. Financing the transition to clean, EU-produced energy 

In order to guarantee the transition to "clean" energy produced in the EU, the Clean Industrial Deal aims to develop several means of financial support through, in particular: 

  • a new state aid framework to accelerate the approval of aid for the deployment of renewable energies, the decarbonization of industry and the creation of sufficient production capacity in the clean technology sector;
  • boosting research and innovation in the field of decarbonization through a call for proposals under Horizon Europe;
  • an increase in the amount of financial guarantees that can be provided under the InvestEU program. The ultimate aim is to mobilize up to 50 billion euros for the deployment of clean technologies, clean mobility solutions and waste reduction. 

4. Reinforcing circularity and access to materials 

The Clean Industrial Deal also focuses on strengthening circularity, essential for optimizing the EU's limited resources, reducing dependencies and increasing resilience. 

To achieve this, the EU plans to activate a number of levers: 

  • rapid implementation of the Critical Raw Materials Act, with an initial list of strategic projects to be drawn up by March 2025;
  • setting up a mechanism enabling European companies to pool their demand for critical raw materials (in the form of a platform);
  • the creation of an EU center dedicated to critical raw materials , enabling joint purchasing of materials on behalf of interested companies;
  • the adoption, in 2026, of a legislative act on the circular economy aimed at establishing a single market for waste and reusable materials in order to make the best possible use of EU resources and reduce dependence on scarce materials from unreliable suppliers. 
ℹ Please note
The EU's ambition is to achieve a circular material use rate of 24% by 2030.

5. Strengthen global business partnerships 

One of the major aims of the Clean Industrial Deal is also to launch international business partnerships with reliable partners in order to diversify and secure the EU's supplies, particularly in terms of access to critical raw materials and clean technologies. The aim is to create strategic alliances that support the global energy transition and strengthen the EU's industrial competitiveness.

6. Ensure access to a skilled workforce

Finally, the Pact also aims to ensure that EU member states have the necessary skills to support this transition to a low-carbon economy.

One of the key levers is the establishment of a Skills Union aimed at strengthening human capabilities. This should focus on developing skills in clean technologies, digitization and entrepreneurship. In particular, the EU plans to create European skills academies, supported by programs such as Erasmus+, with funding of up to 90 million euros.  

Clean Industrial Deal: which strategic sectors are involved?

The Clean Industrial Deal focuses on two closely related sectors: 

  • energy-intensive industries, i.e. sectors whose production and manufacturing processes require high levels of energy and emit high levels ofCO2 (steel, metals, chemicals, cement, glass, etc.). The European Commission recognizes that they urgently need support to decarbonize and face up to the high energy costs and unfair global competition affecting their competitiveness.
  • the cleantech sector, which includes all industries whose activities are directly relevant to the energy transition (renewable energies, hydrogen, electrification, clean mobility, etc.). A sector which the EU describes as "at the heart of future competitiveness and necessary for industrial transformation, circularity and decarbonization". 

In addition to these two broad categories, the Clean Industrial Deal is aimed particularly at certain sectors, for which it provides for the implementation of dedicated sectoral plans : 

  • the automotive sector: an action plan for the automotive industry was presented in March 2025, focusing primarily on innovation in future technologies.
  • steel and metals : an action plan for steel and metals was presented in March 2025, defining measures for ferrous and non-ferrous metals, essential for the ecological and digital transition.
  • the chemical industry: the stakes are particularly high in this sector, due to its carbon emissions, high energy consumption and raw materials supplies. The EU therefore plans to adopt a chemical industry package by the end of 2025, designed to emphasize the sector's strategic role and boost competitiveness, modernization and innovation.
  • sustainable transport, with a specific investment plan to promote low-carbon fuels for air and sea transport, develop recharging infrastructures and support the rail sector's energy transition.
  • the bioeconomy, a sector in which the challenge lies in reducing dependence on imported raw materials and moving towards greater circularity. The Clean Industrial Deal calls for the adoption of a specific strategy for the bioeconomy.
  • finally, a European Pact for the Oceans is to be adopted to stimulate innovation in clean "blue" technologies, offshore renewable energies and circular economy practices.

Clean Industrial Deal: what's in it for business?

Industry accounts for around 15% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, according to ADEME. This observation has led the French government and ADEME to define sectoral transition plans (STPs) for the 9 most energy-intensive sectors (IGCE): cement, aluminum, ammonia, steel, sugar, glass, paper-cardboard, ethylene and chlorine. 

These STPs offer a concrete framework to support industries in building their decarbonization trajectory, combining economic performance and energy sovereignty. They have undoubtedly influenced the conception of the Clean Industrial Deal, and are thus seen as major strategic tools for its implementation. 

🔎 Focus
As part of the implementation of the Clean Industrial Deal, the French STPs could be a real source of inspiration for other EU member states. To this end, a draft European standard has been proposed within the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and is due to be adopted this autumn.

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More generally, the Clean Industrial Deal presents numerous opportunities for companies in the industrial sectors concerned: 

  • the possibility of becoming real "decarbonation showcases" thanks to both public and private support;
  • lower long-term costs thanks to decarbonization, a return to greater autonomy and reduced dependence on imported energy and raw materials;
  • the development of new industrial sectors , particularly in clean technologies (batteries, low-carbon hydrogen, renewable energies) and the circular economy. The financial support provided by the Clean Industrial Deal represents a real opportunity to strengthen these still emerging sectors;
  • the provision of financing, but also the removal of certain regulatory obstacles to decarbonization (state aid, sustainability criteria in public procurement, etc.).

The main European funding schemes associated with the Clean Industrial Deal include the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF), the Innovation Fund, the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank and the InvestEU program. In France, we should mention ADEME's support for industrial decarbonization, the France 2030 plan and BPIfrance's Climate Plan. 

Conclusion

The Clean Industrial Deal represents a major step forward in the EU's ecological and energy transition, establishing decarbonization as a real driver of growth and competitiveness for European industries. It represents a real economic and ecological opportunity for industries in the Member States, thanks to the introduction of new financing mechanisms and a new, more incentive-based regulatory framework.

Its implementation nevertheless poses a number of challenges that need to be overcome to guarantee its effectiveness. In particular, the cost of the investments required for decarbonization will require both substantial subsidies and strong government guarantees to convince manufacturers to take the plunge without risking their competitiveness. Similarly, the supply of critical raw materials remains a real challenge, particularly in the clean technologies sector, which is still dependent on imports of many components, metals and rare earths.

The main factors in the success of this new program will be the translation of the Clean Industrial Deal commitments into coherent national policies (financing, aid, clear regulatory frameworks) and the involvement of the various players concerned. 


Further information

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