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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASAViewpoint: Scaling up its own innovations will unlock Europe’s energy advantage
By
Ann Mettler and Laurence Petit
Ole
09 Jul 2026
Ann Mettler (left) and Laurence Petit (right) are members of the European Innovation Council Board.
The past few years have demonstrated a hard truth: energy vulnerability quickly becomes economic vulnerability. Energy may account for only around 5% of GDP, but it is the first 5%. Every sector depends on it. When energy markets are disrupted, factories cut production, investment stalls, infrastructure projects slow and households bear the cost.The technologies needed to build a more resilient, secure and competitive energy system already exist. The challenge is no longer invention. The urgency is putting in place the conditions required to move them from development to deployment at scale across Europe.Closing the scale-up gap will require more than research funding. It demands continuity of funding across the innovation journey from grants for ideation to patient capital for fully-deployed solutions. It also requires regulatory frameworks and permitting processes that accelerate deployment rather than delay it. It further depends on infrastructure that enables adoption, procurement policies that create lead markets for European technologies, and stronger dialogue between innovators, industry and investors. These conditions determine whether scientific breakthroughs can become globally competitive industries.Europe has made remarkable progress in renewable energy, nuclear power, electrification and energy efficiency. Yet more than half of the EU's energy consumption still comes from imported fossil fuels. The transition is under way, but Europe's energy system remains structurally exposed. As long as that dependence persists, so too will vulnerabilities in Europe's competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.Energy crisesThis structural exposure is not theoretical. Every energy crisis follows the same pattern: decisions taken thousands of kilometres away shape Europe's industrial output, investment decisions and economic security. The real question is not whether another disruption will come, but whether Europe will act before it does.History suggests that crises can become turning points. Scarcity drives innovation. High fossil fuel prices narrow the green premium and make clean technologies more competitive. Europe's energy challenge should therefore be seen not only as a vulnerability that needs to be reduced, but also as an opportunity to build lasting industrial strength and competitive advantage. The good news is that Europe has already built one side of the bridge: world-class science, ambitious company founders and breakthrough technologies. Researchers and entrepreneurs are turning scientific breakthroughs into technologies that can transform how energy is generated, stored, transmitted and used. Some innovations are already moving towards deployment, helping address today’s energy challenges: from long-duration storage and smarter grids to advanced materials and substitution of critical minerals. Others are laying the foundations for tomorrow’s energy landscape, from small modular reactors, advanced modular reactors and nuclear fusion to next-generation geothermal, tidal energy and synthetic fuels. Closing the gapWe know: Europe’s challenge is not invention. It is scale. Too many European companies succeed in developing world-class technologies only to struggle when they reach commercial deployment. The gap between laboratory success and industrial scale remains Europe’s most acute competitive weaknesses. As a result, Europe too often exports innovation while importing the products and value it creates. That is a recipe for industrial decline and strategic dependence.That is why closing the scale-up gap should not be viewed as a nice-to-have but become a top strategic priority. The ScaleUp Europe Fund is one important step in addressing this challenge. Managed by a professional private-sector investment team, the fund aims to mobilise institutional capital for Europe's most promising technology companies. It should not be seen in isolation, but as part of a broader effort to close Europe’s deployment gap and strengthen the conditions needed for industrial scaling.Its initial €5 billion capital base is a catalyst rather than a ceiling. If the fund, and the EU more broadly, can demonstrate that innovations made in Europe can be scaled up, manufactured, commercialised and deployed in Europe, it has the potential to unlock substantially greater private investment.Deployment ecosystemEurope has already built one side of the bridge through scientific excellence and technological innovation. The other side is not another wave of invention, but the ecosystem that enables deployment: patient capital, supportive regulation, industrial demand, modern infrastructure and lead customers willing to adopt European technologies first.It is therefore now imperative to ensure alignment between policy planning and execution to build a full industrial ecosystem, including supply chains and production capacity, that allows European deep-tech innovations to scale up and reach industrial commercialisation.This will require collaboration across the entire innovation system. Investors, industry, policymakers and innovators each have a role to play in shortening the path from scientific discovery to market adoption.This is also why the European Innovation Council board recently issued its first-ever statement on energy. Its message reflects a growing consensus: energy security, industrial competitiveness and technological innovation are no longer separate policy agendas; they are the pillars of Europe's future prosperity and strategic autonomy.The choices we make today will determine whether Europe can bridge the gap between scientific excellence and industrial leadership, transforming breakthrough technologies into the foundations of a more resilient, competitive and secure energy system.The stakes could hardly be higher. The task now is to build the other side of the bridge, creating the conditions that allow those innovations to scale up into globally competitive industries. Only by completing that bridge can Europe turn technological leadership into industrial strength, energy resilience and lasting strategic advantage. That is the defining economic challenge of our times. Ann Mettler and Laurence Petit are members of the European Innovation Council Board.
Without decisive action to scale up our energy solutions, Europe risks remaining dependent on technologies developed elsewhere
Ann Mettler (left) and Laurence Petit (right) are members of the European Innovation Council Board.
The past few years have demonstrated a hard truth: energy vulnerability quickly becomes economic vulnerability. Energy may account for only around 5% of GDP, but it is the first 5%. Every sector depends on it. When energy markets are disrupted, factories cut production, investment stalls, infrastructure projects slow and households bear the cost.
The technologies needed to build a more resilient, secure and competitive energy system already exist. The challenge is no longer invention. The urgency is putting in place the conditions required to move them from development to deployment at scale across Europe.
Closing the scale-up gap will require more than research funding. It demands continuity of funding across the innovation journey from grants for ideation to patient capital for fully-deployed solutions. It also requires regulatory frameworks and permitting processes that accelerate deployment rather than delay it.
It further depends on infrastructure that enables adoption, procurement policies that create lead markets for European technologies, and stronger dialogue between innovators, industry and investors. These conditions determine whether scientific breakthroughs can become globally competitive industries.
Europe has made remarkable progress in renewable energy, nuclear power, electrification and energy efficiency. Yet more than half of the EU's energy consumption still comes from imported fossil fuels. The transition is under way, but Europe's energy system remains structurally exposed. As long as that dependence persists, so too will vulnerabilities in Europe's competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.
Energy crises
This structural exposure is not theoretical. Every energy crisis follows the same pattern: decisions taken thousands of kilometres away shape Europe's industrial output, investment decisions and economic security. The real question is not whether another disruption will come, but whether Europe will act before it does.
History suggests that crises can become turning points. Scarcity drives innovation. High fossil fuel prices narrow the green premium and make clean technologies more competitive. Europe's energy challenge should therefore be seen not only as a vulnerability that needs to be reduced, but also as an opportunity to build lasting industrial strength and competitive advantage.
The good news is that Europe has already built one side of the bridge: world-class science, ambitious company founders and breakthrough technologies. Researchers and entrepreneurs are turning scientific breakthroughs into technologies that can transform how energy is generated, stored, transmitted and used.
Some innovations are already moving towards deployment, helping address today’s energy challenges: from long-duration storage and smarter grids to advanced materials and substitution of critical minerals. Others are laying the foundations for tomorrow’s energy landscape, from small modular reactors, advanced modular reactors and nuclear fusion to next-generation geothermal, tidal energy and synthetic fuels.
Closing the gap
We know: Europe’s challenge is not invention. It is scale. Too many European companies succeed in developing world-class technologies only to struggle when they reach commercial deployment. The gap between laboratory success and industrial scale remains Europe’s most acute competitive weaknesses. As a result, Europe too often exports innovation while importing the products and value it creates. That is a recipe for industrial decline and strategic dependence.
That is why closing the scale-up gap should not be viewed as a nice-to-have but become a top strategic priority. The ScaleUp Europe Fund is one important step in addressing this challenge. Managed by a professional private-sector investment team, the fund aims to mobilise institutional capital for Europe's most promising technology companies. It should not be seen in isolation, but as part of a broader effort to close Europe’s deployment gap and strengthen the conditions needed for industrial scaling.
Its initial €5 billion capital base is a catalyst rather than a ceiling. If the fund, and the EU more broadly, can demonstrate that innovations made in Europe can be scaled up, manufactured, commercialised and deployed in Europe, it has the potential to unlock substantially greater private investment.
Deployment ecosystem
Europe has already built one side of the bridge through scientific excellence and technological innovation. The other side is not another wave of invention, but the ecosystem that enables deployment: patient capital, supportive regulation, industrial demand, modern infrastructure and lead customers willing to adopt European technologies first.
It is therefore now imperative to ensure alignment between policy planning and execution to build a full industrial ecosystem, including supply chains and production capacity, that allows European deep-tech innovations to scale up and reach industrial commercialisation.
This will require collaboration across the entire innovation system. Investors, industry, policymakers and innovators each have a role to play in shortening the path from scientific discovery to market adoption.
This is also why the European Innovation Council board recently issued its first-ever statement on energy. Its message reflects a growing consensus: energy security, industrial competitiveness and technological innovation are no longer separate policy agendas; they are the pillars of Europe's future prosperity and strategic autonomy.
The choices we make today will determine whether Europe can bridge the gap between scientific excellence and industrial leadership, transforming breakthrough technologies into the foundations of a more resilient, competitive and secure energy system.
The stakes could hardly be higher. The task now is to build the other side of the bridge, creating the conditions that allow those innovations to scale up into globally competitive industries.
Only by completing that bridge can Europe turn technological leadership into industrial strength, energy resilience and lasting strategic advantage. That is the defining economic challenge of our times.
Ann Mettler and Laurence Petit are members of the European Innovation Council Board.
| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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