Details
- Publication date
- 25 September 2025
- Author
- European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
Description
Industrial operations consume over a third of the world’s energy and generate nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions. This statistic is the backdrop for ENERGIZE, a European initiative that views industrial demand not just as a problem but as a springboard for climate action.
To put theory into practice, ENERGIZE is piloting Industrial Renewable Energy Communities (IRECs) in four regions:
- Manresa, Spain
- Valesia, Italy
- Zlín Region, Czech Republic
- Upper Austria
On each site, industries can test collaborative models, share resources, and reduce carbon emissions.
The Policy and Finance Gap
The newly published Review Report reveals a mismatch between existing frameworks and the needs of large-scale industrial projects. Most current regulations and funding mechanisms favour small local energy communities, leaving industrial parks without the necessary support. The report calls for:
- Stronger harmonisation across EU regulations
- Tailored financing tools that account for storage solutions and shared infrastructure
Business Model Prototypes
The report also presents four preliminary business models that are relevant to the ENERGIZE framework and are practically implementable:
- Industry-owned models where companies collectively own and manage resources and share costs, benefits, and responsibilities to self-consume renewable sources of energy.
- Energy Service Company (ESCo)-driven approaches, financed by performance savings.
- Community-inclusive structures that bring in residents and public entities as stakeholders.
- Flexibility-oriented models using smart technologies to balance energy loads in industrial zones.
The Road Ahead
The report stresses that collaboration among businesses, investment in advanced tools, and institutional backing are vital to making industrial parks cornerstones of Europe’s clean energy transition.
Source: ENERGIZE
