The European Commission has published the Clean Industrial Deal, a business plan to make decarbonization of European industry profitable.
The European Union kept its promise to publish the plan in the first 100 days of the new Commission’s mandate as the Eurozone grapples with rising geopolitical tensions, slow economist growth, and decreased competitiveness.
It focuses mainly on energy-intensive industries and clean technology. Circularity is also a central element, with the EU emphasizing the need to maximize its limited resources and reduce over dependence on third country suppliers for raw materials.
The Commission has committed to mobilizing over 100 billion euros ($104.8 billion) to support EU-made clean manufacturing. Details of how this financing will work are expected with the publication of the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework in the second quarter of 2025. It should include policies that will allow for a quicker approval of state aid measures for the roll-out of renewable energy, deploy industrial decarbonization, and ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean tech decarbonization.
“Today, Europe is making a bold business case for decarbonization as a driver of prosperity, growth and resilience,” said Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition at the European Commission. “By committing to delivering on the Green Deal climate objectives, we are setting the stage for a sustainable future. Our plan provides the stability and confidence investors need—unlocking capital, expanding clean tech markets, making energy more accessible, and ensuring a fair, competitive landscape where businesses can thrive. But it’s also about people. This strategy is designed to create jobs, develop skills, and open opportunities for all Europeans.”
Energy costs
A key strategy of the Clean Industrial Deal is to lower energy costs, which have soared in the past years greatly impacting the chemicals and plastics industries, among many others.
The Deal plans to lower the energy bill of industries, businesses, and households through its Affordable Energy Action Plan. Key measures include lowering taxes and system costs, accelerating energy project approvals, and deepening electricity market integration. The plan also enhances energy security through regulatory updates, improved cross-border trading, and demand management. These actions are designed to support a more resilient, interconnected, and competitive energy system while advancing the transition to sustainable energy.
Circular Economy Act
The Clean Industrial Deal announced many other follow-up policies to complement it.
The Circular Economy Act, to be adopted in 2026, is of particular relevance to sustainability in plastics. It is intended to bring down feedstock costs, foster a higher supply of high quality recyclates, and stimulate demand for secondary materials and circular products. The Act will enable the free movement of circular products, secondary raw materials, and waste within the Union. It will also harmonize "end of waste" criteria to facilitate the transition from waste to valuable secondary raw materials.
Moreover, the Commission wants to simplify, digitalize and expand Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) across the block in a "targeted manner." It will also set criteria for public procurement of circular products in an attempt to boost demand.
The Clean Industrial Deal mentions plastics directly only once, saying that ‘it is vital to mandate the use of new raw material sources like recycled and bio-based materials to substitute, for example, virgin fossil materials in plastics’.
The Commission also plans to work on measures to incentivize diversion from landfill towards re-use and recycling through more effective separate collection.
Chemicals and automotive industries
The EU is also working on tailoring the Clean Industrial Deal to different sectors, including chemicals and automotive.
The Industrial Action Plan for an Automotive Sector will be adopted on March 5. It will address the needs of the automotive value chain, with a strong focus on innovation in future technologies and capabilities.
The Chemicals Industry Package, set for adoption in late 2025, will recognize the strategic role of the chemicals sector as "industry of industries" and of critical molecules. It will propose targeted initiatives to enhance the sector’s competitiveness, modernization as well as support production and innovation in Europe.
Bioeconomy Strategy
Finally, the Act says the Commission will also propose a Bioeconomy Strategy, to improve resource efficiency and to tap the significant growth potential of bio-based materials substituting fossil-based materials. The plan will lay down priorities for manufacturing and using biomaterials, and for retaining them as long as possible in the economy.
“Europe is not only a continent of industrial innovation, but also a continent of industrial production,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “However, the demand for clean products has slowed down, and some investments have moved to other regions. We know that too many obstacles still stand in the way of our European companies from high energy prices to excessive regulatory burden. The Clean Industrial Deal is to cut the ties that still hold our companies back and make a clear business case for Europe.”