Announced by the European Commission on February 26th, 2025, the Clean Industrial Deal is a key driver for supporting growth and competitiveness, while preserving decarbonisation ambition goals. It promotes research and innovation as a key pillar to support advancement of clean technologies through Horizon Europe, the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation. By aligning industrial policy with Horizon Europe’s strategic goals, the Clean Industrial Deal strengthens support for projects dedicated to clean technologies, green manufacturing, and the transition to sustainable energy solutions.
How Will the Clean Industrial Deal Support Research and Innovation Projects?
The Clean Industrial Deal is fully aligned with the objectives of projects like RESPECT to develop sustainable, safe, and efficient processes for battery recycling. As global demand for batteries increases, particularly for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS), ensuring that the recycling of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries becomes more efficient and sustainable is critical for Europe's strategic autonomy, the circular economy, and competitiveness.
Through Horizon Europe’s support, the Clean Industrial Deal can provide additional financial backing for projects like RESPECT that focus on clean technologies, such as batteries. By prioritising projects that may have a significant impact on decarbonisation and circularity, it encourages the creation of a pipeline of projects from R&I to development, bringing sustainable benefits to the EU as a whole.
The Clean Industrial Deal’s alignment with EU climate and sustainability objectives can further amplify RESPECT’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of battery recycling. By supporting the development of processes that recover a high percentage of critical raw materials and active materials, it ensures that these technologies contribute to Europe’s goal of achieving climate neutrality while also enhancing the EU’s competitiveness in the green technology sector.
The Deal fosters partnerships between industry stakeholders, academia, and research institutions. For RESPECT, this creates an opportunity to engage with key players across the battery value chain, from manufacturers to recyclers, ensuring that the project benefits from a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach. This will allow RESPECT to refine its battery recycling processes based on input from leading experts and test new processes at the pilot scale.
The Clean Industrial Deal’s focus on accelerating the market deployment of innovative clean technologies can help RESPECT overcome regulatory and market barriers. With regulatory frameworks and incentives in place, RESPECT’s recycling processes, including its novel methods for recovering lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite, can be scaled-up more quickly and integrated into the EU’s existing battery production and recycling infrastructure.
This collaborative approach between EU policymakers and the partners of EU-funded projects fosters strong cooperation among key industry players, driving innovation and alignment towards shared goals.
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