Cleantech for Benelux launches to speed up greentech scaling

A coalition of entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers launched Cleantech for Benelux, an initiative to support the scaling of breakthrough clean technologies. This project, unveiled on Wednesday in Brussels, seeks to position the Benelux as a leader in sustainable innovation and a model for Europe.

The initiators see cleantech not only as an environmental necessity, but also as an opportunity to seize for the region and Europe. Particularly, they see Benelux as home to many cleantech ventures and investors, and uniquely positioned to lead this initiative.

Parallel to the unveiling of the association, its founders have also published a manifesto to "Scaling Up Cleantech: A Benelux Blueprint for Europe," outlining a plan to boost cleantech developments in the region.

Vision for a sustainable future

The manifesto highlights the Benelux Union's special legal status within the EU, which allows it to integrate faster and deeper than the EU as a whole. This positions the Benelux as Europe's regulatory sandbox, making it the ideal testing ground for cross-border policies that can be scaled up to the EU level.

Cleantech for Benelux identifies three key challenges that hinder the scaling of cleantech solutions:

Market Access: High energy prices, overregulation, and slow permitting processes make it difficult for cleantech companies to commercialize their innovations. Fragmented regulations and inconsistent incentives further complicate scaling across borders.
Insufficient Funding: Growth capital is scarce, forcing companies to seek foreign investment and relocate. Public funding mechanisms do not sufficiently de-risk early-scale investments, exacerbating the financial challenges faced by cleantech startups.
Limited User Uptake: Industries and public procurement do not adopt cleantech solutions at the necessary pace, hindering the widespread adoption of clean innovations.

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Strategic initiatives

To overcome these challenges, Cleantech for Benelux proposes several strategic initiatives:

Fast-tracking Market Access: Lowering regulatory barriers and enlarging the market for game-changing cleantech solutions. This includes creating a joint Benelux PPA platform for cleantech to enable cross-border electricity procurement at scale.
Unlocking Funding at Scale: Ensuring breakthrough technologies can grow and remain in Europe by expanding InvestEU with a dedicated cleantech window and stepping up commitments to de-risk loans for cleantech companies.
Boosting User Uptake: Implementing demand-driven policies that empower industries and consumers to adopt cleantech. This includes a Benelux Decision on a cleantech-first public procurement program and establishing a Benelux top-runner program to accelerate adoption.

Call to action

Cleantech for Benelux calls on policymakers to implement an ambitious cleantech growth agenda. By leveraging the Benelux's unique position as a regulatory sandbox, the coalition aims to demonstrate how smart regulation and cross-border cooperation can accelerate sustainable industrial growth.

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