About
Established in 2016, the Implementation Working Group on Sustainable and Efficient Energy Use in Industry (IWG-Industry) supports the implementation of the SET Plan in the area of industrial energy efficiency and decarbonisation (Action 6). It brings together SET Plan countries, industry representatives and research actors to accelerate the development, demonstration and deployment of technologies and system solutions that can make Europe’s industry more energy efficient, less resource and emissions intensive and more competitive.
The IWG-Industry operates in a policy context where industrial decarbonisation is increasingly linked to competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy. This context is shaped by the European Green Deal and the European Climate Law, together with more recent policy initiatives and legislative frameworks such as the Clean Industrial Deal, the Competitiveness Compass, REPowerEU and AccelerateEU. Instruments such as the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), the Net-Zero Industry Act, the Critical Raw Materials Act and the Industrial Accelerator Act also contribute to creating investment signals and market conditions for low-carbon industrial products and clean technologies.
The group focuses on five industrial sectors and two cross-cutting areas:
| Sectors | Cross-cutting areas |
| Iron and steel | Heating and cooling |
| Cement | Systems |
| Chemicals | |
| Pulp and paper | |
| Aluminium |
The IWG-Industry promotes coordinated action across sectors, including the identification of joint research and innovation (R&I) priorities, the alignment of national and European programmes, and knowledge exchange between SET Plan countries, industry and research stakeholders.
The working group is engaged in several activities, including:
- defining and updating common R&I priorities for energy-intensive industries
- monitoring progress towards agreed priorities and targets
- supporting the preparation of strategic documents under the revised SET Plan governance
- identifying priority areas where EU, national and transnational funding can support technology development, demonstration and deployment
- facilitating dialogue between the European Commission, SET Plan countries, industry associations, research organisations and other stakeholders
- strengthening cooperation with other SET Plan Implementation Working Groups, European Technology and Innovation Platforms, and relevant European initiatives
- organising meetings, workshops and networking events to exchange experience on technical challenges, enabling conditions and barriers to implementation.
The IWG-Industry contributes to the transition of European industry towards climate neutrality by 2050 and supports the development of a competitive, resilient and strategically autonomous European industrial base.
Targets and objectives
In 2021, the working group revised its Implementation Plan to align its targets and activities with recent R&I developments and policy changes, including the European Green Deal. The revised Implementation Plan set out sectoral and cross-cutting ambitions for the period up to 2025, 2030 and 2050, and helped identify priority R&I activities where coordinated action and funding could support the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries.
In 2024, the working group started a further revision of the Implementation Plan. Following the revision of the SET Plan governance, this process was progressively reframed into the preparation of the Common Implementation and Investment Plan (CIIP). The CIIP is composed of three linked deliverables: the Thematic Vision, the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), and the Implementation and Investment Commitments (IIC).
The drafting is coordinated by DG ENER, with assistance from the SET Plan IWG-Industry Secretariat. It draws on the expertise of European industry associations acting as Activity Leaders within the Working Group to define sectoral and cross-cutting R&I priorities, activity fiches, targets, enabling conditions and investment needs. This work also supports the alignment of EU and national efforts and helps identify where public and private action can accelerate technology development, scale-up and market uptake.
The Thematic Vision provides the overall framework for the transformation of energy-intensive industries, identifying short-, medium- and long-term goals up to 2030, 2040 and 2050. It covers key decarbonisation pathways including electrification, hydrogen-based processes, circularity, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), waste heat recovery and upgrade/reuse or conversion to power, renewable and low-carbon heat, industrial symbiosis and digitalisation.
The IWG-Industry Thematic Vision envisages that:
- By 2030, the IWG-Industry aims to support the first large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies across energy-intensive industries. Several technologies are expected to progress towards demonstration, early industrial deployment and commercial operation, while further validation and scale-up will continue beyond 2030.
- By 2040, low-carbon technologies are expected to be more widely deployed across industrial sectors, supported by expanded electricity, hydrogen and CO₂ infrastructure, greater electrification and digitalisation of industrial processes, and more mature circular economy approaches.
- By 2050, the IWG-Industry envisions a climate-neutral industrial system. This will be enabled by electrified and hydrogen-based production routes, circular material flows, targeted use of CCUS for residual emissions, and integrated, flexible and digitalised industrial ecosystems optimising energy, material and CO₂ flows across value chains.
For the 2028-2034 period, priority areas include:
| Priority area | Focus |
| Industrial electrification and hydrogen-based technologies | Including high-temperature heat applications and integration of low-carbon energy carriers |
| Carbon management and CO₂ infrastructure | Including CO₂ capture, transport, storage and utilisation where relevant for residual emissions |
| Circularity and alternative carbon feedstocks | Including circular material flows, biomass, waste-derived feedstocks and captured CO₂ |
The SRIA will translate the Thematic Vision into actionable R&I priorities, activities, key performance indicators, enabling conditions and investment needs.
The Implementation and Investment Commitments will then support the discussion among the European Commission, SET Plan countries, industry, research organisations and academia on how to implement the endorsed priorities, allocate efforts and identify corresponding R&I investment commitments.
Through this process, the IWG-Industry aims to:
- create a shared understanding of R&I challenges and opportunities for energy-intensive industries
- provide an overview of priority areas where R&I efforts should be focused
- identify activities where funding should be targeted, supporting road-mapping by the European Commission and SET Plan countries
- support national governments in making informed policy decisions that further enable technology development, demonstration and deployment, as well as a resilient technology supply chain in Europe
- strengthen cooperation between industrial sectors, technology providers, research actors and other SET Plan initiatives.
IWG members
Presently, the IWG-Industry does not have a corresponding European Technology and Innovation Platform (ETIP). It operates as a single entity bringing together a core group of SET Plan country representatives and a subgroup of industry and research stakeholders, acting as an ETIP.
The group is co-chaired by Finland, supported by a stakeholder co-chair from A.SPIRE.
Participating SET Plan countries (in alphabetical order):
| Country | Membership |
| Belgium | Active member |
| Bulgaria | Active member |
| Cyprus | Temporary observer |
| Finland | Co-chair |
| France | Active member |
| Germany | Active member |
| Ireland | Temporary member |
| Italy | Active member |
| Latvia | Temporary observer |
| Malta | Temporary observer |
| Netherlands | Active member |
| Norway | Active member |
| Poland | Temporary observer |
| Portugal | Active member |
| Slovakia | Active member |
| Slovenia | Active member |
| Spain | Active member |
| Sweden | Active member |
Stakeholders
- European Association for Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (A.SPIRE)
- Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres (EUREC)
- Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP)
- COGEN Europe
- CO₂ Value Europe
- Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EEIP)
- ETN Global (ETN)
- European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE)
- European Association of Gas and Steam Turbine Manufacturers (EUTurbines)
- European Aluminium
- European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU)
- European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)
- European Energy Network (EnR)
- European Energy Research Alliance (EERA)
- European Federation of Agencies and Regions for Energy and the Environment (FEDARENE)
- European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC)
- European Heat Pump Association (EHPA)
- European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSO-G)
- European Steel Association (EUROFER)
- European Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP)
- European University Association (EUA)
- Euroheat & Power
- FoodDrinkEurope
- Hydrogen Europe
- Knowledge Centre on Organic Rankine Cycle (KCORC) / Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)
- Renewable Heating and Cooling European Technology and Innovation Platform (RHC-ETIP)
- SET Plan Implementation Working Group on Energy Systems (IWG4)
- The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI)
Documents
Database on financial instruments
This database gives an overview of the various financing programmes available across the EU, Member States and members of SET Plan working group. It is not designed to be comprehensive or all-encompassing and should serve as a starting point for research on various sources of funding.
Outcomes of the 2019 networking event
The event focused on cooperation and finance to make European industry less dependent on energy, resources and emissions, while enhancing their competitiveness. The event addressed the sectors of steel production, chemicals, heat and cold technologies, and system integration.
Contacts
- IWG-Industry Secretariat: secretariatiwg-ind
set-indeuproject [dot] eu (secretariatiwg-ind[at]set-indeuproject[dot]eu) - IWG-Industry Secretariat website: www.set-indeuproject.eu