As the European Union rolls out its policies to decarbonise and electrify its industries, Europe’s Regions and Energy Agencies are sending a clear message. They are ready to support the Commission turn these ambitions into results. The call came on 14 October 2026 at the European Parliament in Brussels, where FEDARENE gathered Regions, Energy Agencies, Members of the European Parliament and the European Commission for its strategic discussion “Competitive Regions in a Competitive Europe”. The event was organised with the support of the Basque Energy Agency (EVE) and hosted by MEP Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez.

Europe’s industry faces an energy cost and delivery challenge

Europe’s industry faces an energy cost challenge that threatens its future. Competitiveness is a very concrete decision, taken by entrepreneurs choosing where to place their next production line. To cover the price of our dependency to fossil fuel in the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, European governments have spent €11.8 billion in fiscal measures alone according to Bruegel.

“Europe has already paid the price of its dependency on imported gas, and it cannot afford a third lesson on critical materials. Every euro spent propping up energy bills is a euro that does not build grids or clean generation. The best subsidy is energy investment, and Regions and their Energy Agencies are the ones who make that investment happen.”.

— Julije Domac, President of FEDARENE

Tom Howes, Adviser to the Director at DG ENER, and Jacek Truszczynski, Head of Unit for Net-Zero Industries at DG GROW, presented the main EU initiatives supporting the electrification and decarbonisation of European industry. They underlined the key role of Regions and their Energy Agencies in creating the enabling conditions for a viable business case for the energy and climate transition among local SMEs and industries, and in accelerating the electrification of their activities.

Regions and Energy Agencies are already delivering

To show what this looks like in practice, four Regions and Energy Agencies presented projects they are already running with industrial companies in their territories.

Basque Energy Agency (EVE), Basque Country

Mikel Amundarain Leibar, General Manager of EVE and FEDARENE Vice-President for Industrial Competitiveness in the Energy Transition, presented the Basque Industrial Decarbonisation Programme. In 2024, it supported 58 industrial companies with 17,6 million EUR of public funding and induced 85,6 million EUR of private investment, around 5 EUR for every public euro.

“Europe has defined its objectives. The task now is to deliver projects, and to deliver them fast. Our programme shows that when public support is designed around the needs of regional industry, it can mobilise significant private investment and accelerate industrial transformation both for electrification and new energy vectors such as low carbon fuels.”

— — Mikel Amundarain Leibar, General Manager of EVE

AREC Occitanie, Occitanie

Raphaëlle Viénot presented Fiteo, a third-party investment model in which the regional agency finances and owns the decarbonisation equipment. For the aeronautics subcontractor SATYS, Fiteo financed 1,7 million EUR across three sites with no upfront spending by the company, saving around 3 500 MWh every year. A new 2,5 million EUR programme is now under development on a SATYS site near Marseille.

Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

FEDARENE Vice-President for Grid Capacity and Flexibility Raúl García Brink presented the island’s first industrial energy community in the Arinaga industrial park, where companies share solar power and 12 MWh of battery storage, with supply expected to start in the coming months.

South East Energy Agency, South East Ireland

John Carley, FEDARENE Vice-President for Circular Economy, presented the agency’s one-stop shop, which accompanies SMEs from the first site visit to verified savings. At Signode Packaging Ireland, a 140 000 EUR investment including a 42 000 EUR grant now saves 371 424 kWh and 42 714 EUR a year, cuts 123 tonnes of CO2 annually and pays back in 3,3 years.

OÖ Energiesparverband, Upper Austria

The Cleantech-Cluster of Upper-Austria and NEFI network, managed in part by the Upper Austria Energy Agency, was also presented during the discussions. The cluster links companies, research and training institutions, decision-makers and users, and coordinates cooperation among more than 250 partner companies in the region. The New Energy For Industry (NEFI) network serves as the innovation arm of this work.

Each of these cases have a point in common. They come from the needs of local companies, combined public support with private investment, and produced measurable savings within a few years. As EU funding for decarbonisation will increasingly try to reach SME and industries, this is exactly the kind of project pipeline Europe will need, and Regions and Energy Agencies are the ones building it. They are ready to support the European Institutions in turning EU ambition into investment, jobs and competitive industry on the ground.

“Industry is an integral part of our regions. Behind every factory are people who live in our local communities and supply chains that connect our territories, so decarbonising industry matters for the environment and for the people who depend on it. The Industrial Accelerator Act and the Electrification Action Plan are ambitious, and coherence and speed of implementation are now the priority. Energy Agencies are problem solvers who translate EU policies into concrete action and build the capacity that grids and infrastructure depend on, enabling the people who will deliver them. We are confident that FEDARENE can help the Commission and the Parliament turn these ambitions into security, competitiveness and investment on the ground.”

— Seamus Hoyne, Secretary General of FEDARENE