That wraps up Day two of EU Industry Weeks - the halfway point. Join us tomorrow for more live blogging as Day three begins with a welcome from the Commission's Directorate General of Communication, Networks, Content and Technology, Roberto Viola, followed by a plenary session, "To tax or not to tax – how to ensure a fair distribution of digital profits?"
EUIndustryDays day 2 art
Photo: European Commission
UPDATE 17:04
Day two finished with a short plenary speech from European Investment Bank (EIB) President Dr Werner Hoyer on how the twin transitions will be financed.
“This is our last chance to avert a climate catastrophe," said Dr Hoyer, beginning his speech with on sobering tone before asking the question that business leaders have been increasingly asking themselves; "But at what cost will the transformation come?"
"EU industry is in a perfect storm, and covid doesn’t make it any easier," he added, before saying that he had three central points to make in this regard:
- Industry is in a difficult position due to lower demand and higher costs - wages and energy prices being two areas in particular where costs have increased.
- The bloc relies too heavily on strategic resources from outside the EU, such as semiconductors and digital services.
- Many industry sectors are concerned about being penalised by carbon taxes.
Hoyer went on to add to that list that it was still unclear as to which of the myriad green technologies will prevail as the transition moves on, saying that: "Covid has shown us our need for innovation. But pursuing several tech pathways will not be cheap."
He called on the bloc as a whole to up to its game, citing lower investments in green technology than competitors.
“Europe is not doing enough to support the necessary industrial transformation. We have been lagging in investment in innovation. Every year for the last twenty, we have invested 1.5% less in research and development into innovation that our main competitors in the US, China, and South Korea," the EIB President said.
"We need to bounce back from Covid but use the opportunity to make it green and smart. Let’s rebuild better."
He went on to list the EIB Climate Bank's contributions to the transition and tried to reassure business leaders that: "We [the EIB] understand the challenges and are here to help. We are committed to ending the financing of unabated fossil fuel energy."
"We are delivering both for climate and industry. There is no contradiction here," he added.
He went on to mention that the bank was actively working on norms and principles for sustainable banking and spoke of the "strong investor appetite for green finance."
He ended his speech, and Day 2, with a sober but hopeful message.
"For all of us, the rise of green finance is ultimately good news. The road ahead will be hard but let me be clear, there is no alternative."
UPDATE 16:20
On now: Financing the industrial transformation
Moderator: Jennifer Baker, Master of CeremonySpeaker(s) : Dr Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank
Day two finished with a short plenary session with EIB President Dr Werner Hoyer on how the twin transitions will be financed.
UPDATE 16:00
On now: Defining the potential of digital for sustainability, innovation and recovery
This panel focuses on key priorities for Europe to catch the new wave of industrial data.
It brings together key government actors, industry and academia to define the role of data governance and help to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality by 2050.
On the panel is:
- Ray Pinto, Digital Transformation Policy Director at DigitalEurope
- Alain Didieu from Schneider Electric
- Fernanda Ferreira Dias, director-general for the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition, Portugal
- Francesca Tagliani from Rockwell Automation
- Radoslav Rusev, co-founder of Hydrolalia
- Asa Fasth-Berglund, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology
UPDATE 15:50
On now: Decarbonising Industry Value Chains: Hydrogen over Ammonia to Green Agriculture Products
The panel showcases innovative, breakthrough projects with industrial symbiosis at their core, illustrating value-added for actors across the value chain as well as flagging the challenges faced by front runners and their needs to scale up.
On the panel is:
- Sonja van Renssen, managing editor Energy Monitor
- Gwenole Cozigou, Director for the European Commission
- Massimilano Giansanti, vice president of COPA COGECA
- Adam Guibourgé-Czetwertynski, undersecretary of state, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Poland
- Raquel Blanco, global smart mobility director at Iberdola
- Tove Andersen, EVP for Europe at Yara
UPDATE 15:42
On now: Accelerating industrial transformation and workers’ skills development through worker cooperatives
The COVID-19 crisis showed the importance to maintain industrial capacity in the EU when global supply chains are disrupted.
Worker coops invested in skills development, like Mondragon, have a role to play in the preservation of European industrial capacities.
On the panel is:
- Mila Shamku, advocacy coordinator at CECOP
- Giuseppe Guerini, president of CECOP-Cicopa Europe
- Francesca Montalti, head of industrial sector at Legacoop Produzione e Servizi
- Ana Puusa, Professor at the University of Eastern Finland
- Inigo Albizuri Landazabal, public affairs at Mondragon
- Ulla Engelman, Head of Unit at the European Commission
UPDATE 15:32
On now: Unlocking the full potential of renewables through EU industrial policy - from emerging to commercial technologies
The European Green Deal is a unique opportunity to strengthen European global leadership in renewable energy technologies.
A coherent industrial policy can guide the investments needed to roll out renewable energy technologies at scale and deliver a socially and economically just transition.
On the panel is:
- Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe
- Patrik Möller, CEo of CorPower Ocean
- Frank Averdung, CEO of Oxford PV
- Adrian Timbus, Head of portfolio and strategic marketing at Hitatchi ABB Power Grids
- Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope
- Maive Rute Deputy director-general EC DG GROW
- Donagh Cagney Ocean Energy Europe
UPDATE 15:15
Major European players convene to lay out industrial energy transition
Some of Europe's key energy players, such as Siemens, Iberdrola and Vestas convened at a panel at the 2021 EU Industry Days event to discuss the "twin transition" marking the shift to green energy and the digital transition.
The panel primarily discussed emerging technologies and how to make them more viable in order to meet climate goals in line with the EU's goals of complete decarbonisation by 2050.
Read the full story here.
UPDATE 15:07
On now: Joining forces – how industrial alliances help to achieve EU policy objectives?
The panel is taking a wide-angled look at industrial alliances and in what ways they can achieve key EU policy objectives from the green and digital transitions.
Industrial alliances have already delivered benefits in the battery and circular plastics sectors. Building on this, the Commission launched the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance and the European Raw Materials Alliance last year.
Panellists :
- Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy
- Massimo Gasparon, Director of the European Raw Materials Alliance
- Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Secretary-General of Hydrogen Europe
- Doreen Fedrigo, Industrial Transformation Policy Coordinator, Climate Action Europe
- Virginia Janssens, Managing Director of PlasticsEurope
Moderator: Slawomir Tokarski, Director for Industrial Policy and Innovation, DG GROW, European Commission.
Quotes & highlights:
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis highlighted the need for traditionally opposing aspects of the alliances, such as large corporations and NGOs to put aside their differences; “we must listen to each other and talk to each other”.
"This is bigger than Europe," said Massimo Gasparon, emphasising that the problems we face do not stop at the EU border, and brought up the issues of when securing raw materials from within the bloc, there was a responsibility to those from whom it had previously bought from, especially in developing countries.
Gasparon also underlined the nature of the Alliances. “The Raw Materials Alliance is not an industrial alliance. There is a strong input from industry but the alliance reflects all aspects of communities – national and regional governments, universities, trade unions, NGOs, and civil society groups. That’s the beauty, it represents the wider community.”
Doreen Fedrigo shared her concerns about relying too heavily on public investments, arguing that we must be careful not to indebt future generations in the achievement of new green goals.
"There’s a lot of austerity people have lived through and are continuing to live through," Fedrigo said. I’d like to hear a bit more balance in terms of our available options."
Virginia Janssens offered reassurances that many sectors of industry were genuinely taking their responsibilities seriously, in her organisation’s terms, it sought solutions from the industry itself. And that we are not only looking for public funding and disregarding private investments. Industry is being increasingly responsible.
Diego Pavia ended on a positive note saying he believed that soon “Europe will begin leading the world in how batteries and produced and recycled”
UPDATE 13:37
On now: Low carbon, affordable energy for industrial transformation
This panel offers a deep-dive into how some of Europe's industrial sectors can decarbonise and offer new opportunities for jobs, opportunities and investments to meet 2050 climate goals.
On this panel is:
- Ditte Juul Jorgensen – Director-General for Energy, EC
- Matthias Taft – CEO, Baywa RE
- Paula Pinho – Head of Unit Directorate-General for Energy, EC
- Kadri Simpson – Commissioner
- Morten Dyrholm – CEO, Vestas Wind Systems
- Antonio Cammisecra – Head of Global Infrastructure and Networks, ENEL SPA
- Angeles Santamaria, Technology director of Iberdrola
- Claudia Grotz – Senior Director General affairs Europe, Siemens Gamesa
UPDATE 12:51
Industry experts gather to explain various EU schemes
The second string of panels dealt with experts from various sectors bringing in their ideas to increase the EU single markets efficacy for information, investment and innovation. Three panels were held within the same timeframe.
The experts from the European Innovation Council gave an overview of the work they do in collaboration with large businesses and start-ups. One of the Council’s special roles is to act as an “interpreter” or a bridge between the two.
There was also a general financing perspective offered by Victoria Hernandez of CaixaBank, who laid three main criteria for start-ups wishing to take part:
- Innovation – whether it’s a new disruptive business model or technology
- Excellence – defined by a start-up’s capability to achieve its plans
- Scalability – it needs the potential to go international
Ms Hernandez also highlighted the difference between two types of financing – inorganic, from investing, and organic, related to revenue generation.
Yousef Yousef, entrepreneur and EIC board member, finished the session with insights based on his own journey of scaling a company up to international level, finishing on a note of optimism for Europe’s position in the next wave of technology.
“We have a good time for the next wave – the green one. And I really think Europe can have a big impact in this, and absolutely be winners from that.”
A small panel was held between two European officials promoting a new digitalisation initiative: the Single Digital Gateway.
The project looks to increase digitalisation across member states by allowing for access of online information across member states.
The project will launch a logo that will be present across all websites as part of the partnership in what the panellists referred to as "EU-trusted sites."
The project hopes to be fully up and running by 2023.
Hettel Varik, who moderated the panel, hopes this will allow for an increased push for digitalisation.
She said: "We hope by the time the project is up and running the world will be far more digitalized than it is today. It is a great benefit to be able to connect digitally, especially when you need to connect with governments and legislature. We think this could greatly increase connectivity and accessibility."
Hosted from the YourEurope hub, the digital gateway will offer access to information regarding both national and EU-wide rules, rights and procedures and websites where they carry out these procedures online.
Users looking for assistance will also be guided towards problem-solving services should they be required.
The final panel was a meeting of partners under the EU's Pact for Skills Initiative.
The project pushes for the retraining and upskilling of employees, the hiring of apprentices and ensuring a number of industrial sectors can meet the demand for workers, particularly in sectors hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Isabelle Barthés, a representative of industriAll, a global trade union who have partnered with the scheme, said: “Covid-19 is accelerating changes in both digital and green transformation and these create an urgency of upskilling and training to make sure workers are equipped to deal with a number of situations.
"As many as 25% of workers may need to switch occupation because of the crisis and the EU must offer incentives and plans to accommodate this across all levels: European, national, regional and company."
"Businesses are in the driver's seat," said Norbert Schoebel, a team leader for the European Commission. "They are the ones who need to invest in young people and in the upskilling and employment of working-age individuals.”
Each individual industrial sector will be handled differently, but sectors have been chosen based on their ability to stick to a concrete system for upskilling and the implementation of the Pact for Skills.
Jakob Stolfa, a representative for the Automotive Skills Alliance, said their goal for the automotive sector was to upskill the equivalent of 5% of the ecosystem - roughly €7 billion in revenue.
He added: “Everyone is effected by losses of jobs, but the automotive sector is one of the most likely, which means it requires upskilling on all levels of education.
"Our goal is to aid in the upskilling of the massive automotive workforce and work with employers to make this happen."
The Pact will be working with experts in order to highlight which skills may be the focus of training depending on the targeted industrial sector.
Ceemet, who represent employers and companies have been encouraging their members to join the initiative and share information regarding their sectors to best allocate solutions.
They work at a primarily European level in order to help localise company schemes.
UPDATE 12:05
On now: Meet-the-experts: Pact for Skills
The third concurrent panel is on the Pact for Skills initiative - a scheme to upskill and offer apprenticeships and employment to working-age people - particularly young people within Europe.
The initiative aims to support a fair and resilient recovery and deliver on the ambitions of the EU Industrial and SME strategies and the green and digital transitions.
On the panel is:
- Andre Richier, Policy Officer at the European Commission
- Christine Simon, Policy Officer at the European Commission and CNECT
- Norbert Schoebel, Team Leader at the European Commission
- Jakob Stolfa, Program Manager, VSB-TUO and a representative from the Automotive Skills Alliance (ASA)
- Isabelle Barthes, Deputy General Secretary at industriAll Europe
- Isabel Sobrino Maté, Senior Policy Advisor at Ceemet
- Anna Nikowska, Policy Officer at European Commission
UPDATE 11:55
On now: Meet-the-experts: Single Digital Gateway
The European Commission is looking to implement a process known as the Single Digital Gateway, a process by which will help businesses and citizens navigate the complexities of the single market by increasing ease of access to online information.
This will allow users within EU member states to access information active in another EU country.
On the panel is:
- Hettel Varikm, Policy Officer at the European Commission
- Luca Mangiat, Your Europe Team Leader, European Commission
UPDATE 11:43
On now: Meet-the-experts: European Innovation Council
The European Innovation Council (EIC) aims to stimulate strong collaboration between the innovative companies it funds and large corporates, investors, technology giants and industrial leaders to spur new partnerships and help small companies scale-up their business.
Speakers from the Commission and multinational companies are discussing how bridging the gap between start-ups/scale-ups and large companies can prove to be a vital strategy for business acceleration and growth.
On the panel is:
- Oana Popescu, EASME
- Jean David Malo, Director European Commission – DG Research and Innovation – European Innovation Council (EIC) Task Force
- Agniezska Stasiakowska, Senior business acceleration manager – European Innovation Council
- Anita Krohn Traaseth, Former CEO Innovation Norway - Member of the EIC Advisory Board
- Victoria Hernandez, Board member at CaixaBank Payments & Consumer - Head of the investment committee of Rising Tide Europe
- Yousef Yousef, EIC Advisory Board Member and founder of LG Sonic
- Moderated by Manuel Mendigutia, Strategy adviser/Programme coordinator, European Innovation Council.
UPDATE 11:30
Fly high, fly green - climate-neutral aviation by 2050
A short panel on how the aviation sector will achieve net-neutrality by 2050 was delivered by Axel Krein of Clean Sky.
He highlighted the importance of implementing technologies as soon as possible in order to meet the climate goals in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
He said: “The road to sustainable aviation is neither straight nor simple. It has led to the implementation of new designs and models for aircraft, increased use of hybrid-electric and fully-electric aircraft as well as looking into green hydrogen and synthetic biofuels.
“If we want to be net-zero by 2050, we must implement these technologies very quickly – maybe by the end of the decade. Only then will there be enough time to make the climate targets.”
Krein estimates the total cost of the transition will be €12 billion by 2030.
He also hinted there may need to be a complete revolution in how consumers fly - positing the possibility of offering multiple shorter flights instead of one longer flight in order to limit emissions.
UPDATE 11:15
Industry players highlight the importance of innovation and resilience in Covid recovery
The first major panel for the second day of the EU Industry Days Event saw a plenary session discussing the lessons learned from the Covid pandemic regarding innovation and reliance in the face of the Covid pandemic and how businesses can better prepare for similar situations.
The panel interviewed a number of key players and analysts from various industrial sectors to lay out how their businesses and industry as a whole learned from the pandemic.
Many of the panellists saw the crisis as an overall positive owing to the slew of new technologies which came to the forefront with the rise of mobile working and increased digitalisation.
Antti Vasara, of Finnish firm VTT, said: “When the crisis hit, every R&D firm were thinking: ‘well, what does this mean?’ I think the overall effect has been positive for innovation.
"We need to keep our eye on the ball for innovation. Investing in innovation is important and companies. Some sectors are struggling to meet demand, but others have seen a boom with the pandemic.”
“Research and innovation really bring hope during a crisis. This is how Europe will bring long-term and healthy sustainable growth.”
This mirrors similar sentiments from young entrepreneur Lucie Basch from yesterday Next Generation EU panel, who highlighted the increased connectivity and forever changed technology landscape in the face of the Covid pandemic.
Another pressing matter was the importance of building resilience within supply chains, which were hit particularly hard by the crisis.
"No man is an island," said Samia Nehme from Shell Chemicals, "in the chemicals industry we are exporters of many materials that take jobs away from Europe. It is absolutely necessary to create a competitive environment for business and investments.”
Master of ceremony Jennifer Baker highlighted a shift in the industry.
"The buzzword of the hour appears to have shifted from 'self-sufficiency' to 'sustainability'," she said.
To finish off the session, the results of an audience poll asking "How shall we best strengthen Europe's industrial resilience?" were shared.
The top response, with 39%, was "Invest in green and digital technologies and infrastructure and create demand for what determines our future."
A close second with 36% was "Promote strategic partnering across Europe's industrial ecosystems to boost innovation".
The answers pertaining to removing barriers and letting the market sort it out, and building up stockpiles and reshoring received very little audience support with 8% and 4% respectively.
The panel seemed to unilaterally agree with the audience.
Antti Vasara said: "I struggled to choose between the top two and I’m happy to see them both at the top. So, in that sense, I fully concur."
Samia Nehme said that she was "100%" in agreement with the audience, adding: "It’s the order I’d have chosen. I don’t like stockpiling because we still live in a competitive world and need to be efficient and do our best for citizens. For me, we need to be efficient, competitive and resilient to come out as winners."
Jens Laßman said that "Europe is moving forward and not back. I have one word for stockpiling. It’s like a siege and we know from medieval times that it’s not a good idea".
UPDATE 10:23
On now: Plenary session: Lesson learnt from COVID crisis? Resilience through increasing Europe’s strategic capacity
On the panel is:
- Jens Laßman, Head of sites, ArianeGroup, Germany
- Joost Van Hees, Head of Global Government Affairs, ASML
- Bernd Schäfer, CEO, EIT RawMaterials
- Samia Nehme, VP Chemicals Europe & Africa, Global Excellence & Product Stewardship, Shell Chemicals Europe
- Antti Vasara, President & CEO, VTT
Moderated by Jennifer Baker.
Eu Industry Days: Lesson learned from Covid?
Panel of plenary session: Lesson learnt from COVID crisis? Resilience through increasing Europe’s strategic capacity
Interview with Frans Timmermans, EC's executive vice president
Credit: European Parliament
UPDATE 09:45
The second day of EU Industry Days kicked off with European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans describing the race to the 2050 target in the context of the post-Covid environment.
"The pandemic did not diminish people's sense of urgency where the climate is concerned," he told Jennifer Baker, Master of Ceremony.
"The need for the transformation of our economy was already there. The pandemic exacerbated that as there's no longer a choice. We have to make sure but we have to be sure to rebuild right.
"We have to make sure we don't push assets in places they are not needed. We have to push the industry to make our economy more sustainable."
Baker followed by asking how the EU can help companies.
"We don't need to convince CEOs, we need to create the right environment for them to make that happen."
How can the EU show leadership, asks Baker.
"We've shown this leadership with the Climatre neutral 2050 target. If others get there first, great! The good news is, the transformation can be done; the bad news is we don't have a lot of time.
"We want to be the first climate-neutral continent, but if other people beat us - great! This is a battle you can only lose"
08:45
Welcome to our second day of coverage of EU Industry Days 2021.
Already underway is a master class on entrepreneurship. Coming soon is Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice-President.