4 March 2026, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal to increase demand for low-carbon, European-made technologies and products. The Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) will boost manufacturing, grow businesses, and create jobs in the EU, while supporting industry’s adoption of cleaner, future-ready technologies.
In line with the recommendations of the Draghi report, the IAA introduces targeted and proportionate ‘Made in EU’ and / or low-carbon requirements for public procurement and public support schemes. These will apply to selected strategic sectors, notably in steel, cement, aluminium, cars, and net-zero technologies, while establishing a framework that can be extended, where appropriate, to other energy-intensive sectors such as chemicals. This will strengthen European production capacities and boost demand for European-made clean technologies and products. The Act includes a requirement for Member States to set up a single digital permitting process to speed up and simplify manufacturing projects.
However, the “Made in EU” requirement, risks increasing complexity, reducing competition in vehicle markets, and, ultimately, driving up costs for operators and public authorities. For vehicles, this requirement would mean that electric vehicles financed with public funds must be assembled in the EU and 70% of the components by value must (excluding batteries) must be European.
The proposal also sets out the concept of strategic industrial and decarbonisation projects and provides facilitation measures for them, including accelerated permitting procedures and priority access to funding.
For more information about the proposal, please see here.