ENERCLUSTER’s Managing Director, Iker Chasco, participated in a working session in Brussels alongside the Government of Navarra, the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC), the German region of Saxony-Anhalt, and more than 50 representatives of Europe’s renewable energy industry to call for more effective measures to protect and strengthen Europe’s clean technology supply chain.
The event, held under the title “Industrial Accelerator Act: the last chance to secure Europe’s clean tech future”, brought together regional governments, industry associations, industrial companies, trade unions and Members of the European Parliament to discuss the future of the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), the European Commission’s proposed legislation aimed at strengthening Europe’s industrial competitiveness, accelerating decarbonisation and reducing strategic dependence on third countries.
The broad participation highlighted the strong consensus across the sector on the need to equip Europe with effective tools to reinforce its industrial capacity and ensure a resilient supply chain for renewable energy technologies.
During the event, ENERCLUSTER stressed the need for the future legislation to include more ambitious measures to promote the European manufacturing of renewable energy technologies and ensure a level playing field with other markets that already implement industrial policies supporting their domestic supply chains.
In this regard, Chasco stated: “Local content measures, which have been successfully implemented for years in markets such as the United States, India and Brazil, should serve as inspiration for a truly effective Industrial Accelerator Act. In its current draft, however, this objective has not yet been achieved.”
For his part, Mikel Irujo, Regional Minister for Industry and for Ecological and Digital Business Transition of the Government of Navarra, stated: “Navarra has taken a clear position: to lead the defence of our renewable industry and its entire value chain. Europe cannot afford to lose industrial capabilities that are strategic for its competitiveness, technological autonomy and the energy transition.”
The meeting also highlighted the role that Navarra has played over the past two years in advocating for a European industrial policy that recognises regions with a strong industrial base, technological expertise and manufacturing capabilities in the renewable energy sector.
Participants agreed that the proposed legislation represents a decisive opportunity to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy, while warning that there is still room to improve the proposal before it is finalised. Among the main priorities is the development of a stronger Made in Europe strategy capable of reinforcing industrial capacity, enhancing energy security and ensuring Europe’s technological leadership in clean technologies.
Through this initiative, ENERCLUSTER and the Government of Navarra continue to represent the interests of Navarra’s renewable energy industry in the key European forums where the policies shaping the future of the sector are being defined, with the aim of ensuring that the energy transition also generates industry, skilled employment and technological autonomy across Europe.
