Opinions

Europe has decided to launch the construction of gigafactories to produce batteries at high volumes to reindustrialize our continent and enhance our strategic autonomy. Yet, these projects focus on lithium batteries and to a great extent neglect the emerging technology of sodium batteries.

Sodium is present everywhere in Europe at a low cost, and desalinisation projects linked to an EU Blue Deal would increase this availability. The potential of a sodium battery manufacturing sector is therefore extremely interesting from both a competitive and sustainability point of view.

The European Commission published a long-awaited European Water Resilience Strategy in June 2025. The strategy aims to restore and protect the water cycle, build a water-smart economy and safeguard access to clean water for all.

This opinion intends to discuss the relationship between water resilience, digitalisation and the green transition. It aims to propose recommendations to address the different challenges involving water, digitalisation and decarbonisation from an industrial perspective.

Clean technologies are projected to continue expanding in turnover, investments and jobs. Thanks to ambitious climate targets, the EU is a global leader in high-value inventions and was an early mover in developing a cleantech production base. However, it has lost technological leadership in several sectors and its manufacturing base is eroding.