The Commission proposes to have 40% of strategically vital technologies manufactured in Europe, by, for instance, speeding up permitting for selected technologies such as wind turbines. 

The target is a part of the Net-Zero Industry Act, which was presented on a Brussels press conference on Thursday.

The proposal is aimed at technologies that are crucial for greenhouse gas reductions.

Manufacturing facilities within solar photovoltaic, onshore and offshore wind and battery are all stamped as Net Zero projects and will benefit from shorter permitting deadlines of 9 to 12 months.

”We need a regulatory environment that allows us to scale up the clean energy transition quickly,” says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, adding: 

“The net-zero industry act will do just that. It will create the best conditions for those sectors that are crucial for us to reach net-zero by 2050: technologies like wind turbines, heat pumps, solar panels, renewable hydrogen as well as CO₂ storage.”

”Demand is growing in Europe and globally, and we are acting now to make sure we can meet more of this demand with European supply,” says von der Leyen.

Now the Net-Zero Industry Act is slated for further discussions among Parliament and EU member nations before coming into force.

Additionally, the Commission aims to establish a hydrogen bank to ensure that the EU becomes a green hydrogen powerhouse, says Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans.

”When I first started talking hydrogen, certain members of my staff were unsure what is was. But hydrogen is one of the most dynamic clean energy areas. And we need to move fast, as they do in Asia and the US,” says Timmermans.