The European Commission released on January 27 a document laying out the transition pathway for the chemical industry. The document is one of the actions identified in the 2021 revision of the EU industrial strategy, when transition pathways for different sectors were first proposed.
The result of a co-development process involving the Commission, Member States, industry, civil society, and academia, the transition pathway for the chemical industry identifies a total of more than 150 topics and actions to be implemented by the relevant stakeholders. Those topics and actions, grouped under 26 topics, are presented in a roadmap articulated into:
- An action-oriented component, including actions set against a timeline and grouped under three cross-cutting themes: i) collaboration for innovation; ii) clean energy supply; and iii) feedstock diversification;
- A technology component covering electrification, hydrogen, biomass, waste, Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), as well as process efficiency;
- A regulatory component covering the existing legislation and also including major research and innovation initiatives, influencing the digital and sustainable development of the chemical industry.
In Q2 2023, the Commission is expected to launch the co-implementation process with a call for commitments and pledges from all relevant stakeholders.
The full document can be consulted at this link.
