Capgemini Invent, the digital innovation, consulting and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group, has released a new report highlighting 55 clean technology projects that can speed economic recovery and help ensure Europe can meet its greenhouse gas emission goals over the coming years.
Entitled ‘Fit for Net-Zero: 55 tech quests to accelerate Europe’s recovery and pave the way to climate neutrality,’ the Capgemini Invent analysis serves as a guide for policymakers and investors and offers actionable projects for deploying the European Commission’s €750 billion recovery fund to help transform Europe’s economy and set it on course to be the world’s first net-zero continent by 2050. The study was commissioned by Breakthrough Energy, a network of entities founded by Bill Gates and the world’s top tech and business leaders, to speed the transition to a clean energy future.
The ‘Fit for Net-Zero’ report investigates and analyses existing and future technologies in five interconnected economic domains: energy; buildings and construction; industry; transport; and food and land use. Capgemini Invent engaged eminent innovators, entrepreneurs, corporate strategists and policymakers to help identify and examine more than 200 potential projects, each with differing levels of technological maturity, to assess their transformational potential and readiness for investment support.
Based on this research, Capgemini Invent identified 55 high-impact technologies most likely to deliver transformational results at speed and scale. Composed of projects and investments distributed across the innovation cycle and by economic area and maturity, these quests have the potential to create an annual market of net-zero goods and services totalling up to €790 billion of gross value added per year, reduce emissions by 871 MtCO2 and create nearly 13 million jobs by 2030 through both new jobs and the transformation of existing ones. Over time, every €1 invested in this portfolio of clean technologies is expected to generate €9 of future turnover in European markets by 2050. These projects could also help improve air quality, food safety and increased energy independence for Europe.
Ann Mettler, Senior Director of Breakthrough Energy, said: “This research clearly shows that a step change in clean tech innovation is needed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Many promising climate technologies are in the pipeline but now need to be scaled — quickly. This requires Europe to go beyond its strength in research and science and put equal emphasis on development and deployment. The best innovation will have limited impact if it remains stuck in a lab. That is why this report examines in great detail 55 examples of the best and most cutting-edge clean technology quests around Europe. They can provide a solid basis on which Europe can regain global technology leadership, help solve the climate crisis, and lay the grounds for a sustainable and job-rich recovery.”
Cyril Garcia, CEO of Capgemini Invent and member of the Group Executive Board, said: “Our work for Breakthrough Energy confirms that Europe’s clean tech revolution can be as significant as the digital revolution and plays to Europe’s core industrial strengths and leadership.”
Click below to share this article