In the coming decades, the industrial policy challenges relate to a large extent with the transition to a climate neutral and circular economy. This is well recognised also in the Commission Strategic Vision for 2050 - "A Clean Planet for All", presented in November 2018.

In February 2019, the Commission High-Level Expert Group on Energy-Intensive Industries (HLG on EII) agreed to produce an Industrial Transformation Master Plan in order to deepen analytical base and operationalise possible pathways for transition of Energy Intensive Industries to carbon neutrality by 2050.

The objective of this work is important because it comes from a collective industry wish to address sustainability and future competitiveness of EU industry in a global context. This can only be achieved through collaboration between industry, Member States, researchers and civil society, which are well represented in the HLG on EII.

The sub-groups established for this purpose have met in March and June to develop their respective chapters based on draft papers produced by the industry. The Sherpa group of the HLG on EII will finalise the draft Master Plan in September and the HLG on EII will convene in October to discuss and approve the Plan. Thank you to EIP Raw Materials for collecting stakeholders’ views contributing to this work.