A Euractiv analysis of EU state aid approved under the Clean Industrial Deal shows that governments committed roughly 61 billion euros, but only 1 percent of that went to directly reducing factory emissions. Heavy industry accounts for one fifth of the EU's carbon footprint. Most of the money went to renewable energy projects in countries like Italy, France, and Czechia, while industrial decarbonization received just over 600 million euros from Spain. Seven times more money was spent on cutting electricity bills for energy-intensive companies than on helping them modernize. The article notes that ministries have dedicated teams for renewable subsidies but lack manpower for industrial electrification. A separate EU fund for industrial heat electrification allocated less than half its available budget due to low applicant interest. The next test will be the proposed 100 billion euro industrial decarbonisation bank, funded by ETS revenues, expected in July 2026.
