The measures respond to the call for a well-integrated approach across all EU policies in support of this dual objective. They also show the EU’s commitment to addressing the challenges our industry faces, such as the gap in energy prices between the EU and its main competitors, sluggish demand or unfair global competition, while giving companies, large and small, as well as investors the certainty that Europe remains fully committed to become a climate-neutral economy by 2050.

In the midst of the global race to net zero, the Clean Industrial Deal will also enable the EU to lead in developing the clean technology markets of the future. According to the International Energy Agency, the global market for the top six mass-manufactured clean energy technologies (solar photovoltaic, wind turbines, electric cars, batteries, electrolysers/hydrogen and heat pumps) is set to rise to more than USD 2 trillion by 2035 – close to the average value of the world’s crude oil market in recent years.

That’s why, alongside the proposal to amend the European Climate Law setting a 2040 climate target, with the necessary flexibilities, this Communication shows that the delivery is already underway. Just a few months after the Clean Industrial Deal was presented, we are putting a first wave of actions in motion.

Progress has been made in all six core business drivers identified in the Clean Industrial Deal. The measures strike a balance between supporting the ambitious goals of the Clean Industrial Deal and maintaining a level playing field in the Single Market, so that Member States can provide targeted financial support to decarbonisation efforts.

In parallel, the Commission has continued its engagement with stakeholders. Since the adoption of the Clean Industrial Deal, the Strategic Dialogues on the Future of the Automotive Industry and the Future of the European Steel Sector have led to dedicated Action Plans , with concrete, sector-specific actions to maintain Europe’s competitive edge. The Commission has also organised a Clean industrial Dialogue on Circular Economy to prepare the Circular Economy Act. Further measures will be presented based on the Dialogues with the Pharmaceutical and the Chemical Industries, addressing specific concerns of these sectors.

First Package of Clean Industrial Deal Delivery

In line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal, it targets all industrial undertakings, with a focus on energy-intensive industries and the clean-tech sector and introduces aid measures to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy, investments in industrial decarbonisation and in manufacturing capacity for clean tech. Member States will be able to help finance the expansion of clean technologies manufacturing in Europe, using both recycled and primary input.

The new framework promotes the attraction of private funds by reducing investment risks in projects aligned with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal.

In parallel with the new State aid framework, the Commission Recommendation on Tax Incentives, adopted today, encourages investments in clean technologies and industrial decarbonisation, through measures like accelerated depreciation and tax credits.

All zero and low carbon energy solutions, including renewables, nuclear, energy efficiency, storage, CCUS, carbon removals, geothermal and hydro-energy, and all other current and future net-zero energy technologies , are necessary to decarbonise the energy system by 2040, as is the strengthening of the grid and storage capacity.

These documents cover:

(i) innovative technologies and forms of renewable energy deployment,

(ii) the designation of dedicated grid and storage infrastructure areas and

(iii) network tariff methodologies.

The third guidance document, on network tariff methodologies promotes a network tariff design aimed at lowering overall system costs by enhancing flexibility and locational incentives as well as boosting the efficiency of grid usage and management.

Other challenges faced by industry include exposure to unfair international competition and regulatory burden. Since the launch of the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS), the risk of carbon leakage has been effectively addressed by granting free allowances for sectors exposed to this risk. Free allowances for EU ETS installations producing CBAM goods will be phased out from 2026 to 2034, in parallel with the gradual phase-in of the CBAM’s financial obligations for imported goods. While CBAM addresses the risk of carbon leakage for the production of CBAM goods for the EU, the risk of carbon leakage for the production of CBAM goods for export markets might increase with the phase-out of free allocation, as long as certain third countries do not introduce equivalent carbon pricing. Various CBAM sectors have called for urgent action to address export carbon leakage.

As announced in the Steel and Metals Action Plan, the Commission has therefore considered options on how to address this risk. Any solution should fully align with the CBAM’s environmental objectives, while respecting the relevant WTO rules. In addition, it should be implemented quickly to provide legal certainty and avoid undue administrative burden. Therefore, the Commission intends to make a dedicated proposal using the revenues generated by CBAM – which will be extended - to support production at risk of carbon leakage. This would allow the affected producers to be compensated proportionally to the phasing out of the free allowances subject to deliverables on longterm decarbonisation. The scope will need to be established based on objective criteria. This scheme would be in place for an initially defined period with a review in 2027.

Simplification is another key pillar of the Clean Industrial Deal. Progress was made in a number of legislative areas aiming to reduce regulatory burden and enable industry to embrace the transition to a sustainable economy in a more effective and pragmatic way. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) simplification proposal, which was adopted as part of the Omnibus I package, in February 2025, aims to reduce red tape and ensure a smooth implementation of CBAM when it becomes fully operative in January 2026. Notably, the proposal introduces an annual mass-based threshold of 50 tonnes that excludes approximately 90% of importers from any CBAM obligations, while ensuring that 99% of emissions are covered under CBAM’s scope. Earlier this month, colegislators reached an agreement on the amended Regulation, which adheres to the main parameters of the Commission’s proposal.

Finance is key. The Commission and the European Investment Bank have collaborated closely to develop new financial products - eligible under the InvestEU Programme - designed to reduce risks for private sector investments. On 19 June, the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched new schemes to offer counter-guarantees to power purchase agreements (PPAs) between clean energy developers and industry, with EUR 500 million capability. This initiative seeks to facilitate access for the industry to more stable energy prices and drive investment in new generation projects. Furthermore, the EIB launched a second counter-guarantee scheme to mitigate risks associated with manufacturing new grid components (applying the model it already uses for the wind sector) with EUR 1.5 billion, which is crucial for the expanding network needs across Europe, as well as the TechEU programme to help bridge the financing gap to support disruptive innovation, strengthen Europe’s industrial capacity and scale-up companies. It is also expanding the financing capability of the Wind Package from EUR 5 billion to EUR 6.5 billion, and established a new guarantee product for emerging clean tech with an EIB lending envelope of EUR 250 million to be supported by InvestEU.

The Commission is also on track to launch a pilot for the upcoming Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, by the end of 2025. With a budget of EUR 1 billion, this pilot will be an auction aimed at decarbonising industrial process heat through electrification and direct renewable heat (such as solar thermal or geothermal). It will benefit companies across various industrial sectors including mediumsized enterprises. It serves as a pilot for the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank by supporting projects with carbon emission reduction as a metric. In April, a major stakeholder consultation demonstrated robust industry support for this initiative. Following this, the Commission has since published the draft auction terms and conditions for consultation.

The Commission has also adopted the first two lists of Strategic Projects to be supported under the Critical Raw Material Act, covering projects both within the EU and in third countries.

Further developing lead markets is a key priority of the Clean Industrial Deal.

On 6 April, the Commission adopted the 2025-2030 working plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and Energy Labelling Regulation. The plan provides a list of products that should be prioritised, such as steel and aluminium, to introduce ecodesign requirements and energy labelling over the next five years. This should promote the uptake of sustainable, repairable, circular and energy efficient products across Europe

In the context of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Automotive Industry that took place in Q1 2025 and as announced in the Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector of 5 March 2025, the Commission proposed flexibility to the automotive sector to comply with the 2025 targets on fleet sales through a targeted change of the Regulation (EU) 2019/631, which has been adopted by co-legislators. This provides manufacturers with an additional flexibility as regards their compliance obligations, by allowing for a three-year compliance period for 2025, 2026 and 2027, instead of an annual period. The targeted amendment introduces such additional flexibility for manufacturers while maintaining the level of ambition of the emissions reduction target. This aims to support investment in the clean transition while preserving overall climate ambition.

On 5 March, the Commission also updated the List of Waste to keep batteries and their critical raw materials in the economy for longer.

The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) under the Connecting Europe Facility made €570 million available for deployment of charging infrastructure for 2025-2026, with the focus on heavy duty vehicles. The second cut-off date on 11 June 2025 saw 25 project proposals with total investment cost of €665 million. Overall, around €287 million of EU funding were requested for EV charging infrastructure projects; with €245 million for dedicated charging infrastructure for Heavy Duty Vehicle.

As regards the external dimension, the Commission has launched negotiations on a first Clean Trade and Investment Partnership with South Africa during the EU-South Africa Summit on 13 March 2025. The partnership is developed in collaboration with key strategic partners to effectively manage strategic dependencies and bolster the EU’s role in crucial global value chains. The Commission and South Africa committed to pursue an agreement to support the development of strategic, cleaner value chains for raw materials.

Enhancing circularity is an important pathway for the decarbonisation and competitiveness of metal industries. However, the volume of scrap used for recycling in the EU is declining driven by a decreased demand from the EU industry and higher prices for scrap paid in third countries.

The Commission will shortly propose a Chemicals Package, including an Action Plan for the EU chemicals industry and an Omnibus on chemicals. The Action Plan will introduce concrete measures to enhance the global competitiveness of the European chemicals sector, including SMEs, and strengthen its production base through actions in key areas, such as critical production, energy price and supporting innovation and decarbonisation.

As announced in the Clean Industrial Deal, the Commission has set up the IPCEI support hub to accelerate the design of new IPCEIs. The Commission is currently offering support to several Member States to speed up the design of the new IPCEIs endorsed by the Joint European Forum on IPCEIs in November 2024 and March 2025. The work on the Circular Advanced Material IPCEI and on the innovative nuclear technologies IPCEIs will in particular contribute to accelerate the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal.

The Commission has also adopted on 13 June 2025 the Nuclear Illustrative Programme (PINC). This provides an up-to-date overview of nuclear energy investments needs in the EU and best practices of financing models for efficient investment plans. Delivering Member States' plans regarding nuclear energy will require significant investments, of around EUR 241 billion until 2050, both for lifetime extensions of existing reactors and the construction of new large-scale reactors. Additional investments are needed for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) and microreactors and in fusion energy for the longer-term future.