The European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy held a three-day conference this past week in Rome. The gathering brought together about 150 experts from various technical and non-technical fields related to industry. Timing was perfect because industry is at a crossroads with increased concerns about costs and competition not to mention long-term climate and energy obligations. There is a need to build in resilience for the future.
And there are concerns about the future. Last week, a new report showed the crisis the European chemical industry is in. Only this week, 12 bodies representing the bloc’s most energy-intensive industries said production levels across their sectors have declined by up to 40 % in 2025, compared to 2018. Around 1.5mn jobs have been lost in heavy industries since 2008, they added.
This means it was an appropriate time for the energy efficiency community to show it can be part of the solution to help build that resilience.
There is a lot of optimism. A pre-conference event showcased the value of industrial parks and how companies within those parks can work together to achieve many long-term climate and energy objectives while making their companies more competitive and resilient. Check out the eceee’s press release on that event.
For the two days of the actual event, there were many themes developed and more reflections on them will be provided in coming weeks. To get companies engaged in energy efficiency, energy management systems and energy audits start the ball rolling. Well, there were many presentations and discussions on how they can better be used in this changing environment. The concept of circularity came up time and time again, both from a technical perspective and the non-technical perspective, which includes financing, awareness creation. Soon, you should hear more from several national development banks because they are increasingly exploring how they can better finance circularity efforts.
All in all, there were excellent technical solutions discussed as were there recommendations for improving programme delivery and policy development. Bringing together experts from academia, business, the public sector and researchers is really important. It does not solve the immediate crisis Europe’s industry is facing but it does give hope for the future.
You should also be aware of the eceee early career network that is designed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among early career and young professionals in the field of energy efficiency. They met this week and they certainly made their voice heard. Check out their LinkedIn page. You may want to join.
eceee will publish all presentations and abstracts online shortly. Make sure you don’t miss any communication. Sign up to eceee’s information and news service here.
eceee is planning to hold its next industry event in early to mid 2027. Meanwhile, there is a separate panel on industrial energy efficiency at its next summer study in June.
If you would like to share your reflections, please contact us at energyindemand@gmail.com.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 