Sectors
Faced with the major challenges that hit our society and economy – climate change, energy transition, COVID-19 pandemic, global competition, inequalities, strategic dependencies, major conflicts – the European Union and the Member States are reflecting, coordinating and acting. Major plans and reforms for every European citizen such as the European Green Deal to be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, the €750 billion NextGenerationEU post-Covid-19 recovery plan, the RepowerEU plan to move away from gas, oil and coal from Russia by 2027, the European Chips Act which aims to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and resilience in semiconductor applications and technologies, the Net-Zero Industry Act which aims to relocate the production of clean energy technologies to the European continent, and the Critical Raw Materials Act which aims to guarantee a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials for the European industry, have been adopted in record time to respond to major contemporary challenges.
Key industrial sectors are targeted by these policies, including microelectronics, batteries, hydrogen, mobility, cloud, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, health, biotechnology, energy, CO2-intensive industries, etc. These sectors, which are at the heart of the strategic priorities of the European Union and the Member States, can benefit from important public funding, and their projects shape our future and that of the next generations.
european economics stands alongside these companies and sectors to help them design and implement turnkey public funding solutions for their strategic projects.
For more information, check out current funding opportunities and our services.
The European semiconductor industry faces fierce competition at global scale. Europe has a strategic positioning in terms of innovation capacity, but factories tend to be located elsewhere due to a less favorable cost structure and massive public support in Asia. This is especially true for wafer production and front-end manufacturing, where the required investments are huge and increase with the performance of the most advanced chips.
The European semiconductor ecosystem benefited from significant public funding in 2018 and 2023 through the IPCEI on Microelectronics (1.9 billion euros for 43 projects in 4 Member States plus the United Kingdom) and the IPCEI ME/CT (8.1 billion euros for 68 projects in 14 Member States) aimed at bolstering the European technological leadership, transforming it into market opportunities, and coordinating innovating players at all levels of the value chain . In addition, in 2022, the European Commission launched the European Chips Act, which facilitates the funding of first-of-a-kind microelectronic gigafactories in Europe, in order to strengthen the resilience of European industry with regards to these key enabling technologies.
european economics has supported 34 projects in the microelectronics industry as part of these initiatives and has contributed in securing a total of €11.7 billion for its clients (wafer manufacturers, IDMs and foundries).
Europe has set very ambitious targets for the electrification of transportation and intermittent renewable energies. These require extensive use of electric batteries. This is why battery production has become a strategic issue for the European Union, which seeks to reduce its dependence on Asian battery imports – with China holding a 76% global market share.
It is thus crucial for the EU to develop an innovative and competitive European battery industry to ensure its economic sovereignty and achieve its environmental objectives. The battery industry received significant public funding in 2019 and 2021 through the IPCEI on Batteries and IPCEI EuBatIn, two major collaborative projects to which 12 Member States contribute 6.1 billion euros for around sixty companies spread across the entire battery value chain, including raw material extraction, design, and manufacture of cells and battery packs, and finally recycling.
In March 2023, Europe continued implementing its battery action plan, viewing them as one of the key technologies of its Net-Zero Industry Act. The Critical Raw Materials Act, on the other hand, reflects the European Union’s desire to support upstream investments in the battery sector’s value chain, aiming to ensure a safe and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.
Lastly, numerous gigafactory projects for batteries are currently under development, funded through R&D project aids (up to the first industrialisation) and the Temporary Crises & Transition Framework.
european economics has supported 24 projects in the battery value chain, amounting to a public funding of €7.0 billion euros.
Massive volumes of green and low-carbon hydrogen will need to be produced in the coming decades to decarbonise CO2-intensive industries such as steelmaking, refineries, cement, chemicals… Hydrogen will also be used for heavy mobility (trucks, ships, trains) and for the storage of renewable and intermittent energy sources like solar photovoltaic and wind.
The European Union has set the objective of achieving an installed capacity of 40 GW of electrolysers by 2030. From July 2022 till May 2024, the European Commission approved three IPCEIs (Important Projects of Common European Interest) which should make it possible to kickstart the development of the European market for green and low-carbon hydrogen. As part of the IPCEI Hy2Tech, 15 Member States are financing €5.4 billion for the implementation of 41 projects primarily focused on the development and first industrialisation of electrolysers and fuel cells manufacturing capacities. The IPCEI Hy2Use, on the other hand, mobilises €5.2 billion in public funding from 13 Member States for 35 projects aimed at deploying hydrogen usage in industry. The IPCEI Hy2Infra allocates €6.9 billion State aid from 7 Member States for 33 projects aimed at deploying large-scale electrolysers and transport infrastructure. Finally, in the IPCEI Hy2Move, 7 Member States have committed 1.4 billion euros in grants to support 13 innovative projects in the field of hydrogen uses for mobility and transport.
Starting in 2020, european economics has supported 70 projects across the green and low-carbon hydrogen value chain, securing a total of €11.6 billion in public funding.
Microelectronics
The microelectronics industry, with its multiple applications across sectors including automotive, defense, health, energy and digital, is considered strategic in Europe. It is the focus of many public funding opportunities.
Battery
The electrification of mobility and the rise of intermittent energy sources necessitate that Europe builds a robust battery industry. Massive public funding is being mobilised to achieve this goal.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is considered a key sector for Europe to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Significant public funding is earmarked for the development and industrialisation of electrolysers and fuel cells, as well as for hydrogen-based decarbonisation projects and for transport and distribution infrastructure projects.