Signal | Issue 30 | February 2026

As 2026 gets underway, it is clear this could be a pivotal year, with the building momentum of clean industry shifting from announcements to investment. More projects than ever are in the pipeline and there has been an increase in those hitting final investment decision (FID). The action is diversifying worldwide, opening up opportunities for countries with a smaller existing industrial footprint and prompting discussions among traditional industry leaders.

Included this month:

• Mapping the momentum of the growing global clean industry pipeline
• Nick Mabey, CEO of E3G, and our CEO, Faustine Delasalle, share why Europe’s industrial future depends on creating lead markets for clean commodities
• The ITA continues its country-focused acceleration in India with partnerships to foster green hydrogen and solar scale-up

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Clean industry is rising, opportunities for 2026

The global pipeline of clean projects spans 70 countries. Of these, China currently has the single largest share of projects, with more than 200 projects in our Global Project Tracker and 54 projects financed or operating. A rapidly growing renewable power sector and policy frameworks that support clean hydrogen and its derivatives are driving clean commodity production growth across the country.

Outside of China, new opportunities are spreading out; nearly half of investment-ready projects lie in the ‘new industrial sunbelt’, many in emerging economies. This leaves Europe facing a strategic opportunity for renewal. Replacing ageing industrial assets with clean production capacity can revitalise longstanding industrial regions, reinforce energy independence and strengthen industrial competitiveness.

This year is an opportunity for countries worldwide to gain an early mover advantage and turn the wave of 2025’s announcements into solid investments.

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Europe’s industrial future depends on creating lead markets for clean commodities

From Faustine Delasalle, CEO, Mission Possible Partnership and Nick Mabey, CEO, E3G

European industry is at a turning point. Fossil-based production has become economically unviable and environmentally unsustainable due to high energy costs, ageing assets and global competition.

High-emission pathways for steel, aluminium and chemicals production in Europe are more expensive than global averages and highly exposed to the price volatility of imported fossil fuels, with European producers steadily losing market share.

Without an urgent shift toward cleaner industrial value chains, Europe risks a slow erosion of its industrial base and with it, the jobs, technologies and strategic influence that underpin its economic strength.

There is room for optimism. The EU boasts one of the world’s most ambitious pipelines of clean industrial projects, but this potential is stalling: of 19 clean industrial plants that secured financing globally last year, only two were in the EU, while China progressed 12.

What’s slowing momentum isn’t technology or capital; it’s the absence of buyers willing to pay a premium for clean materials and chemicals. Without markets for clean commodities, progress in Europe will remain slow at best and, in some cases, is already reversing.

​​​​​​​Meeting the competitiveness challenge

While many European companies have announced bold investment plans to decarbonise, Mission Possible Partnership’s Global Project Tracker shows that only a fraction are moving forward. The challenge is clear: unless there is an uptick in demand for clean materials and chemicals, investors will not invest. This is compounded by Europe’s comparatively high energy costs, which further widen the competitiveness gap for clean production.

The European Commission recognised these challenges last year in its Clean Industrial Deal, which put competitiveness and resilience at the centre of Europe’s transition. A few early steps are taking shape – with the proposed extension of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to downstream aluminium and steel intensive products, and new low-carbon steel incentives under the EU tailpipe CO2 regulations for cars.

The next step – the Industrial Accelerator Act, which is due later this month – must now complete this picture by building long-term market certainty that creates a credible business case for low-carbon production.

However, early signals suggest the Act may rely mainly on voluntary labelling and soft incentives. These are welcome, but – like the proposals published in December – are insufficient to create demand at the scale or pace required. And while debates over “Made in Europe” are becoming increasingly contentious, they should not starve the political oxygen for green lead markets. New analysis from the Industrial Transition Accelerator (ITA) and E3G shows what is at stake. Across just four commodities – steel, cement, aluminium and ammonia – Europe already has a pipeline of clean industrial projects worth around €100 billion, but this pipeline is stalled.

Europe’s path to resilience

Investing in these industries is Europe’s path to economic resilience, energy independence and green growth. It is also a cornerstone of Europe’s security strategy: the ability to produce key materials and chemicals domestically strengthens its autonomy in a world where energy and industrial supply chains are increasingly contested. A strong local industrial base also helps ensure a secure domestic defence industry that can scale in times of conflict.

To achieve this, Europe needs a comprehensive lead-markets strategy that mobilises both public and private demand to turn industrial ambition into reality and to maintain the industrial capability to underpin its security. That means deploying a full policy toolkit, tailored to the needs of each sector, from public procurement and contracts for difference to targeted regulation and standards.

Concerns about cost should not hold Europe back. The so-called “green premium” – the extra cost of cleaner materials – has a minimal impact on consumers. For example, switching entirely to clean steel and aluminium would raise the cost of an average car by only 1%. By contrast, dependence on fossil fuels has proven a far greater inflation risk: energy price spikes added roughly six percentage points to EU inflation in 2022 alone.

At the same time, Europe cannot go it alone. Clean energy costs are a critical driver of the competitiveness of clean industry. To make the most of the industrial transition, Europe should tap into the potential of its renewable-rich countries, while building mutually beneficial partnerships with clean energy leaders beyond its borders. ​​Such cooperation can secure affordable clean inputs, strengthen supply chains and expand global green markets, while reinforcing Europe’s diplomatic ties in a world that is increasingly fragmented.

If European leaders want the Clean Industrial Deal to succeed in heralding a new era for European industry, the Industrial Accelerator Act must move beyond good intentions. It should create the strong and predictable lead markets to turn Europe’s clean-industrial ambition into investable demand and secure Europe’s place in the clean economy of the future.

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Building connections in India for country-focused acceleration

MPP and the ITA are expanding their networks in India to help bolster the infrastructure essential to accelerating projects to FID. In January, new partnerships were announced with GH2 India to fast-track clean hydrogen and derivative projects to FID and with the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The GH2 India collaboration is designed to remove practical roadblocks and support India’s emergence as a global leader in clean industrial production. It will focus on stimulating demand, increasing project pipeline visibility, strengthening contracting frameworks and standards to help unlock barriers and push projects towards FID.

“India’s clean industrial transition needs coordinated execution to move projects from intent to investment,” said Nishaanth Balashanmugam, CEO & Director at GH2 India.

Michel Heijdra (Ministry of Economic Affairs, Netherlands), Yash Kashyap (ITA), Nishaant Balashanmugam (GH2 India), and Bhupinder Bhalla at the MoU Signing Ceremony in Goa, January 28th

The initial priority areas will include:

• India–EU collaboration on Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin compliance and certification
• Green shipping corridors and offtake dialogues
• Expansion of Solar Energy Corporation of India tenders for green fuels
• Activating the Clean Industrial Project Tracker to accelerate FID-ready assets

Beyond these, the collaboration will involve stakeholder coordination, technical support on policy, regulation and contracting, as well as fostering public, private corporation, with particular attention on ports and infrastructure.

Scaling solar projects to power clean industry

MPP has  joined forces with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), signing a Framework for Action to work with the ITA to help scale and deliver solar projects with a focus on India and Egypt, where there is an abundance of this renewable power source.

The ISA is a global initiative working with 120+ countries to improve energy access and security, advocating the use of solar power as a sustainable transition to a clean energy future.

Ashish Khanna, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, and James Schofield, Manahing Director of the Industrial Transition Accelerator, at the Framework of Action signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi, on January 14th

The partnership will work to speed up solar project deployment through improved coordination and action, drawing on the ISA’s deep expertise and connectivity in energy and infrastructure systems, alongside the ITA’s practical experience of fast-tracking industrial projects.

These Frameworks for Action will strengthen the ITA’s India project support programme to scale clean industrial solutions for the 60+ projects in India’s growing pipeline.

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UPCOMING EVENTS AND PARTNERHSIPS

Hear more from Mission Possible Partnership at events and access tickets on related conferences from our partners.

• Economist Impact: 11^th annual Sustainability Week (2-4 March, Intercontinental London – the O2, London) 
  • Economist Impact’s 11th annual Sustainability Week, brings together leaders to share case-studies, insights and ideas to drive action on sustainability. With more than 400 speakers, 2,500 in-person attendees, 80 case studies, the event tackles sustainability-related business challenges, finds solutions and gets results. 
  • Join us by registering at this link and use code MPP-SW20 for a discount on the pass. 

• CATALYZE 2026: Engineering the Next Industrial Revolution (17-18 June, Michigan Central, Detroit) 
  • CATALYZE will assemble the people building the energy and industrial systems of the future. This new flagship summit from ASME and Constructive explores the real-world challenges and opportunities ahead – focusing on action, not just ambition. 

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The Mission Possible Partnership team 

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