June 11 – As the G7 summit kicks off in Evian, France, this week, global imbalances, strategic dependencies and energy security will inevitably be top of mind. Supply side shocks have been on a relentless roll since 2020, first COVID-19, then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, followed by critical mineral export controls, and now the ongoing conflict in the Gulf.
Countries face a collision between the need to sustain domestic growth amid geo-economic friction, and the demands of the energy transition.
Each challenge has sharpened the will of leaders to respond by strengthening sovereign, strategic autonomy.
But for Europe, first, the choice is not binary. Europe has genuine industrial strengths but rebuilding everything at home fails on cost and time.
Second, relying on patchwork tariffs and muddling through their delivery against global market realities, means the problems the EU is trying to address are stuck in a holding pattern of continued reliance on others, demonstrated by an increasing concentration of electric vehicles and clean technologies manufactured outside of Europe.
Analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that China controls 60% to 90% of battery supply chains alone. Across wind components, grid infrastructure and heat pumps where Europe still has some competitive advantages, the picture is similar.
These advantages will soon disappear without a practical path forward. France, as the G7 president, with EU support, should be an anchor. The UK, Canada, Japan and others share Europe’s exposure and its interests.
As the former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta said at the launch of the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap in April, “scale is power”. Unity is now essential for Europe – nations that were once large in a smaller world must cooperate closely in areas where they seek to compete with today’s hegemons. Together, they have the collective resources and critical input – demand – to reshape supply terms that none can achieve alone. And Europe’s ability to lead internationally will also depend on choices it makes at home.
New analysis from the Clean Technology Partnerships Initiative (CTPI) identifies priority supply chains in the European economy across batteries, offshore wind, grid components, nuclear, green steel and geothermal, where targeted partnerships between allied countries could materially reduce global strategic dependencies. Due for release later this month, it will detail robust investment cases in each technology and provide a methodology for shifting political ambition to action.
That architecture has three components. First, Europe must define and defend the sectors where it holds comparative advantage and is prepared to invest. It should use procurement rules like in the Industrial Accelerator Act and other fiscal and trade tools as genuine leverage, not aspiration. This would involve trusted partners being “inside the tent” for the chosen sectors.
Second, it should enable imports of non-prioritised technologies, including from China, to keep the transition affordable and to minimise inflationary impacts across the economy. Not every supply chain needs to be defended; those that don’t should be open. Third, and most importantly for the G7, participating governments need the practical deal-making support to turn political alignment into investments, moving from summits to supply chains, project by project.
This is where the G7 in Evian has a concrete opportunity. The communique will, no doubt, reaffirm commitments to energy security and the clean transition, and likely build on commitments made last year to align critical mineral production to members. But reaffirmation is no longer sufficient. What leaders can do, and what CTPI’s roadmap shows is possible, is agree to approach these two challenges together.
The first step is an evidence-based framework for clean technology partnerships, naming and agreeing the priority supply chains, and mandating the hands-on technical assistance needed to address gaps that conventional institutions struggle to close: converting political vision into bankable investment, coordinating policy and financing tools with industry, and synchronising action across trusted partners.
An effort to coordinate demand and pool offtake, as well as align wider finance and policy tools, is necessary to make these investments commercially viable over the medium term.
And as Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said last month, the international order is being rebuilt, it will be “rebuilt out of Europe”. By leading coordinated moves between trusted partners, Europe has the power to break the overwhelming concentration of clean technology supplies, manufacturing capacity and know-how in a single country.
G7 leaders meeting in Evian should seize the chance to embark on this pragmatic pathway towards greater resilience in the face of multiplying global threats.
Note: First published by Reuters June 15, 2026: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/why-clean-tech-partnerships-are-key-europes-energy-security–ecmii-2026-06-15
Clean-tech partnerships hold the keys to Europe’s energy security
June 11 – As the G7 summit kicks off in Evian, France, this week, global imbalances, strategic dependencies and energy security will inevitably be top of mind. Supply side shocks have been on a relentless roll since 2020, first COVID-19, then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, followed by critical mineral export controls, and now the ongoing conflict in the Gulf.
Countries face a collision between the need to sustain domestic growth amid geo-economic friction, and the demands of the energy transition.
Each challenge has sharpened the will of leaders to respond by strengthening sovereign, strategic autonomy.
But for Europe, first, the choice is not binary. Europe has genuine industrial strengths but rebuilding everything at home fails on cost and time.
Second, relying on patchwork tariffs and muddling through their delivery against global market realities, means the problems the EU is trying to address are stuck in a holding pattern of continued reliance on others, demonstrated by an increasing concentration of electric vehicles and clean technologies manufactured outside of Europe.
Analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that China controls 60% to 90% of battery supply chains alone. Across wind components, grid infrastructure and heat pumps where Europe still has some competitive advantages, the picture is similar.
These advantages will soon disappear without a practical path forward. France, as the G7 president, with EU support, should be an anchor. The UK, Canada, Japan and others share Europe’s exposure and its interests.
As the former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta said at the launch of the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap in April, “scale is power”. Unity is now essential for Europe – nations that were once large in a smaller world must cooperate closely in areas where they seek to compete with today’s hegemons. Together, they have the collective resources and critical input – demand – to reshape supply terms that none can achieve alone. And Europe’s ability to lead internationally will also depend on choices it makes at home.
New analysis from the Clean Technology Partnerships Initiative (CTPI) identifies priority supply chains in the European economy across batteries, offshore wind, grid components, nuclear, green steel and geothermal, where targeted partnerships between allied countries could materially reduce global strategic dependencies. Due for release later this month, it will detail robust investment cases in each technology and provide a methodology for shifting political ambition to action.
That architecture has three components. First, Europe must define and defend the sectors where it holds comparative advantage and is prepared to invest. It should use procurement rules like in the Industrial Accelerator Act and other fiscal and trade tools as genuine leverage, not aspiration. This would involve trusted partners being “inside the tent” for the chosen sectors.
Second, it should enable imports of non-prioritised technologies, including from China, to keep the transition affordable and to minimise inflationary impacts across the economy. Not every supply chain needs to be defended; those that don’t should be open. Third, and most importantly for the G7, participating governments need the practical deal-making support to turn political alignment into investments, moving from summits to supply chains, project by project.
This is where the G7 in Evian has a concrete opportunity. The communique will, no doubt, reaffirm commitments to energy security and the clean transition, and likely build on commitments made last year to align critical mineral production to members. But reaffirmation is no longer sufficient. What leaders can do, and what CTPI’s roadmap shows is possible, is agree to approach these two challenges together.
The first step is an evidence-based framework for clean technology partnerships, naming and agreeing the priority supply chains, and mandating the hands-on technical assistance needed to address gaps that conventional institutions struggle to close: converting political vision into bankable investment, coordinating policy and financing tools with industry, and synchronising action across trusted partners.
An effort to coordinate demand and pool offtake, as well as align wider finance and policy tools, is necessary to make these investments commercially viable over the medium term.
And as Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said last month, the international order is being rebuilt, it will be “rebuilt out of Europe”. By leading coordinated moves between trusted partners, Europe has the power to break the overwhelming concentration of clean technology supplies, manufacturing capacity and know-how in a single country.
G7 leaders meeting in Evian should seize the chance to embark on this pragmatic pathway towards greater resilience in the face of multiplying global threats.
Note: First published by Reuters June 15, 2026: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/why-clean-tech-partnerships-are-key-europes-energy-security–ecmii-2026-06-15
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