The scale-up of cleantech innovation represents a generational opportunity to revitalise and reindustrialise all regions of the European Union, and cleantech advocates and industrial leaders work tirelessly across the continent to turn Europe into a competitive cleantech champion.
Now, Cleantech for Iberia welcomes their latest team member, the Policy Analyst Ana Campos, strengthening the team’s advocacy in the region.
Over the last eight years, Ana has had the chance to work across a diverse range of sectors, building on her academic background in political science, international relations and diplomacy. Having worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of in her home country of Portugal, as part as the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as in the private and NGO sector in various roles, Ana has a broad portfolio of European and national energy policy experience, having also served a stint at the European External Action Service in Brussels.
“My interest in energy policy was first sparked during my university studies, which led to my first role as a Research Fellow in a project focused on EU-Russia energy relations and interdependence, and whose conclusions were recently confirmed by the EU’s current effort to rapidly wean off Russian gas dependencies.”
What motivated you to join Cleantech for Iberia?
“In my latest experience before joining Cleantech for Iberia, while working for EDP, I was focused on analysing the EU Green Deal policy framework, which has set clear targets for renewables, energy efficiency, and emissions reductions. This is steering Europe toward a net-zero future, but we’re missing a critical piece—implementation. We need to secure the necessary funding and support the implementation and make the Green Deal a reality. My role at Cleantech for Iberia allows me to focus on these needs — ensuring that cleantech innovators have the resources and backing they need to thrive.
Europe has set ambitious targets, now we need funding to make it happen. This is the moment to go beyond objectives, and moving towards delivery and implementation; making the targets a reality and moving forward the green reindustrialisation.
Tell us about the state of play for Iberian cleantech!
“Iberia is on the brink of an exciting transformation. Portugal and Spain finalised their updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) – incorporating more ambitious targets for renewables, storage and energy efficiency.
In Portugal, my home country, we are expecting a new national strategy for Energy Storage, NECP also outlines plans for a National Strategy on Energy Storage, which is essential for effectively integrating renewable sources into our energy grid. Coupled with the foreseen Green Industrial Strategy under the Climate Framework Law, we are setting the stage for substantial advancements in cleantech.
In Spain, we are looking forward to the publication of a new Industry Law, and have recently seen great developments such as the Spanish Energy Agency (IDAE)’s indirectly investing in cleantech innovations to take startups to scale-ups (IDAE Estrategia de Inversiones).
At the same time, we’re witnessing significant funding opportunities under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, particularly aimed at advancing hydrogen initiatives and supporting state aid measures for the green industry. These funding mechanisms are vital for stimulating innovation and scaling up the production of clean technologies in our region.
This moment, when Member States are looking to implement and transpose the Fit for 55 and Green Deal Industrial Plan legislation from the European level, it is high time to unlock funding targeted at concrete cleantech solutions. It is crucial to ensure this funding reaches the innovators that in Portugal and Spain receive 70% less funding than their counterparts in France and Germany. It is a massive gap, and it needs to be closed”.
“Europe has set ambitious targets, now we need funding to make it happen.”
So what is needed to turn Iberia into a cleantech industrial hotspot in Europe?
“For the Iberian cleantech community to flourish, we need more focus, funding and speed. Policymakers need to focus on identifying the needs of the actual, on-the-ground industry. This requires a clear and laser-focus strategy aiming at supporting the technologies with competitive advantage and creating competitive financing schemes to build an integrated innovative ecosystem.”
What’s the first order of business for you as a cleantech policy officer?
“After analysing and drafting our positioning on the updated Portuguese NECP, we are now mapping out the Iberian cleantech ecosystem to identify sectors and technologies where Iberia has a competitive advantage, as well as what gaps there are in the local markets that need to be addressed, so that we can advocate for policy solutions that build where we are strong and bridge the gaps in the road to cleantech competitiveness.
At the same time, we are working closely with our coalition members to bring the innovation and investment community closer to policymakers. Like in most of Europe, we have an excellent early-stage cleantech ecosystem, bursting with brilliant ideas and very high-level skills. All the same, we struggle to finance the scale-up of innovative solutions. We need to be much better at capitalising on our potential.”
You recently attended Cleantech for Europe Summit in Brussels. Any takeaways?
“The event was such a great showcase of the innovative mindset found in Europe’s cleantech community. What I take away personally, is that we really need to double down on lifting best practices from different countries and regions and applying them across Europe.
This means both learning from different cleantech initiatives and continuing to deepen our collaboration, but also that European policymakers need to be much better at learning from each other and implementing solutions from other parts of the EU.”
Thank you for sharing your insights with us, Ana! We look forward to working with you.
