“The European Union is gradually becoming less competitive in green value chains” (Bruegel study)

Europe is slightly losing ground in clean-tech value chains, and funding should go where local industrial ecosystems fit best, according to a new study published by Bruegel in October 2026.

The paper pairs two datasets, arguing that together they highlight the importance of geography for industrial policy:
• National trade data: Harvard Growth Lab's Greenplexity Index tracks how many green industries a country is competitive in, and how complex they are, across ten value chains from batteries and heat pumps to nuclear and wind.
• Regional investment data: Bruegel's European Clean Tech Tracker logs €224 billion of announced manufacturing investment in batteries, electric vehicles, green iron, solar and wind since 2016.

From an economic-growth perspective, the study says, “Europe should target…