Industrial Alliances for the Energy Transition: Harnessing Business Power in the Era of Geoeconomics

Abstract

In a context of rising geoeconomic competition, the EU is embracing stronger industrial interventionism to address societal challenges and reduce external dependencies in strategic sectors. Developing this type of strategic industrial policy requires close government–firm relations. This article investigates whether and how the EU succeeds in articulating public–private collaboration in the pursuit of strategic goals by examining the role of the recently launched EU Industrial Alliances in clean energy technologies. We build on a “governed interdependence” (GI) approach to assess whether the Alliances resemble the embedded public–private networks that are common in states deploying strategic industrial policy. Our findings, obtained through desk research, surveys, and qualitative interviews, offer a mixed picture. On the one hand, in line with GI, the Industrial Alliances provide a novel, institutionalised venue for public–private collaboration, led by geostrategic objectives and contributing to reducing information gaps and fostering policy coordination. On the other hand, Industrial Alliances adhere less well to a GI system in their composition and structure, and in their loose articulation of risk-socialisation mechanisms.