The European Commission consults on draft State aid framework supporting Clean Industrial Deal
On 11 March 2025, the European Commission launched a public consultation on its draft State aid framework supporting the Clean Industrial Deal (CISAF). The draft CISAF provides several key provisions designed to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy, deploy industrial decarbonisation and ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean tech.
The European Commissioner Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, has been given the mandate through a mission letter to develop a new State aid framework to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy, deploy industrial decarbonisation and ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean tech.
This new framework must support the Clean Industrial Deal (CID), a major initiative to enhance industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation across the EU. Conceived on the analysis of the impact of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), the framework aims at preserving cohesion objectives. When EU Member States submitted their feedback to the Commission during a survey on their experiences with the TCTF, this information was considered useful in accelerating investments in clean energy and decarbonisation.
Indeed, the Commission believes that strong State aid control continues to play a key role in addressing market failures while avoiding inefficiencies in public spending.
To achieve this objective, on 11 March 2025 the European Commission launched a public consultation on its draft State Aid Framework accompanying the Clean Industrial Deal (CISAF).
The draft CISAF provides several key provisions designed to streamline and facilitate State aid measures for Member States. Once adopted, the CISAF will replace the TCTF until 31 December 2030.
The Commission proposes the following categories of aid:
- Measures accelerating the rollout of renewable energy: firstly, the draft CISAF aims at simplifying the procedures for investments in renewable energy and energy storage projects like solar, wind and energy storage systems. Member States will have the flexibility to create specific technologies based on their national energy mix (e.g. a focus on emerging technologies such as hydrogen). Some of those technologies may receive direct aid without a tendering process if certain timelines and implementation standards are met. Finally, these measures can speed up the deployment and ensure the rapid acceleration in renewable energy transition.
- Measures facilitating industrial decarbonisation: these focus on supporting investments that lead to the quick and efficient decarbonisation of industrial processes. Member states will be able to design tender-based and direct aid schemes to support these projects. For larger projects, the aid will be capped according to the project’s funding cap.
- Measures ensuring sufficient manufacturing capacity in clean technologies: on the basis of the future CISAF, Member States will be allowed to provide aid to produce critical clean technology equipment such as solar panels and wind turbines. This aid could be extended to support raw materials necessary for manufacturing such technologies. Finally, the draft CISAF authorises Member States to offer higher level of aid to match support provided in third countries, preventing investments from being diverted from the EU.
- Measures to de-risk private investments: Member States can adopt measures to reduce the risks associated with private investment in renewable energy, industrial decarbonisation, and the manufacturing of clean technologies.
Consultation process and next steps:
The consultation is open until 25 April 2025 allowing Member States and all interested parties to submit their comments on the draft CISAF. The proposal will be discussed in multilateral meetings with Member States to further refine the provisions based on the feedback received.
The Commission is planning to adopt the framework in June 2025. As mentioned above, this framework will replace the TCTF so that Member States can adopt measures to achieve the EU’s decarbonisation objectives until 2030.
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