In collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), i24c launches its report titled “Low-carbon innovation for sustainable infrastructure - The role of public procurement” which looks at how to leverage the power of the public purse to maximise low-carbon innovation for sustainable infrastructure.

In light of the European Commission launch of a guidance package for public procurers, and the conference “Joining Forces in Public Procurement to Power Investment” i24c and International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) publish recommendations for the European Commission and member state authorities on how to better leverage the power of the public purse to drive demand of low-carbon innovation in sustainable infrastructure.

Since its inception, i24c has been investigating and considering what an industrial strategy for Europe would have to contain – and have been calling for the development of such a strategy. It is within this context that we publish this working paper, “A mapping of EU Industrial and Innovation policy”, assesses the developments in EU industrial and innovation policy since the beginning of the 21st century, up until today. The working paper concludes that in the last decade EU industrial policy has been relatively consistent, but that there are further options for greater ambition, and streamlining of policy initiatives and possibilities of synergies between EU and member state initiatives to fully enable the industrial transition towards a net-zero economy in 2050.

I24c publishes in collaboration with the consultancy Element Energy a report on how to finance an industrial carbon capture and storage (ICCS) cluster through exciting EU finance mechanisms. While there are EU funds available that could support industrial CCS projects, the report concludes that in the short-term Member State support and contribution will be vital to operationalise the first industrial CCS cluster in Europe.

The European construction industry is confronted by an economy that is undergoing a highly significant change. This report questions how to ensure that these changes can be treated as an opportunity for economic success and global leadership as much as an environmental challenge in the construction sector.

Europe’s transport industry and its related services are an essential part of Europe’s economy. Currently, the transport sector is challenged by rapidly changing framework conditions and consumer demands. Therefore, the report emphasises the necessity for European automotive companies to innovate to remain competitive and to meet increasingly stringent environmental constraints.

Given global decarbonisation concerns, the wide array of low-carbon technologies offers significant growth potential. The report assesses the potential of countries to excel in these emerging sectors and identifies whether countries are particularly specialised in innovating in specific low-carbon sectors.

Existing policies are unlikely to promote the systemic innovation that is needed to shift EU production and consumption towards enhanced sustainability. In this report, which is the fruit of collaboration between CEPS and the i24c platform, the authors look at EU policies and propose ten steps to align EU rules with long-term objectives.

This report, authored by The Carbon Trust, explores the role of industrial ecosystems in driving the radical low-carbon innovations the EU will need to meet its climate change and competitiveness objectives. The study identifies some key factors of success for these ecosystems through in-depth case studies across diverse sectors in Europe, covering innovative technologies, business models, processes, and products.

This i24c report has been developed with the aim of providing evidence-based analysis to inform the debate on what an integrated, forward-looking Energy Union Research, Innovation and Competitiveness strategy (EURICS) should seek to achieve and prioritise.

In this report commissionned by i24c, BPIE explores opportunities to strengthen Europe’s industrial leadership in the construction value chain, in order to deliver a fast and deep decarbonisation together with economic and competitive advantages, particularly through innovation