The Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), formally adopted on 28th May 2024, aims to redirect EU funding and ease permitting delays, providing confidence to EU storage developers.

Integral to NZIA’s efforts are Net-Zero Strategic Projects; These initiatives strive to bolster the resilience and autonomy of the EU’s net-zero industry with prioroty status given at a national level to facilitate the execution of these projects.

To remove potential hurdles in the path towards climate neutrality, the NZIA simplifies the permitting processes. Member States are required to establish ‘one-stop shops’ for permit granting with clear, binding time limits.

The NZIA targets to manufacture at least 40% of the annual deployment needs for net-zero technologies within the EU by 2030. This includes various technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, batteries, long duration energy storage (LDES), electrolyzers, and nuclear technologies. By simplifying the regulatory framework and offering investment incentives, the Act is poised to enhance the competitiveness of the EU’s net-zero technology industry.

Commission president Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the act, saying it created a regulatory environment conducive to the rapid scale-up of domestic projects. “The Act creates the best conditions for those sectors that are crucial for us to reach net-zero by 2050,” said von der Leyen, who is running for a second turn as the EU executive's senior politician. “Demand is growing in Europe and globally, and we are now equipped to meet more of this demand with European supply.”.