Workshop “EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: an opportunity for sustainable industrial R&I" : summary report.
Date: 2021-04-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU research policy, EU strategy, financial market, financing, industrial research, innovation, investment, sustainable development

Workshop

"EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy:
an opportunity for
Sustainable Industrial R&I"

SUMMARY REPORT

Research and 
Innovation 

Summary report 

Workshop “EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: an opportunity for sustainable industrial R&I”

European Commission
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Directorate E — Prosperity
Unit E.1 — Industrial Research, Innovation and Investments Agendas
Unit E.3 — Industrial Transformation
Deputy Director-General: Implementation Impact & Sustainable Investment Strategies
Unit R&I Investment Agendas

Contact 

Doris Schröcker, Head of Unit Industrial Research, Innovation and Investments Agendas 
Emilia Chehtova

Email 

 Doris.SCHROECKER@ec.europa.eu 
Emilia.CHEHTOVA@ec.europa.eu 
RTD-SF-WORKSHOP-1120@ec.europa.eu 
 RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu

European Commission
B-1049 Brussels

Manuscript completed in January 2021. 
1st edition.

This document has been prepared for the European Commission, however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Commission 
is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this publication.

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).

PDF

ISBN 978-92-76-28407-9

doi:10.2777/94914

KI-01-20-789-EN-N

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 

©  European Union, 2021

The  reuse  policy  of  European  Commission  documents  is  implemented  based  on  Commission  Decision  2011/833/EU  of  12 
December  2011  on  the  reuse  of  Commission  documents  (OJ  L  330,  14.12.2011,  p.  39).  Except  otherwise  noted,  the  reuse  of  this 
document  is  authorised  under  a  Creative  Commons  Attribution  4.0  International  (CC-BY  4.0)  licence  (https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/).  This  means  that  reuse  is  allowed  provided  appropriate  credit  is  given  and  any  changes  are  indicated. 
For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective 
rightholders. 
Image credits: 
[cover]: © krisana # 141648081, 2017. Source: stock.adobe.com 

  
EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Workshop
“EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy:
an opportunity for 
Sustainable Industrial R&I”

SUMMARY REPORT

edited by
Emilia Chehtova
Helge Wessel
Lorenzo Tama

2021

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

1.1  Overview 
1.2  Workshop policy objectives 
1.3  Key messages across the three workshop sessions 

Table of Contents 
1  Introduction and background .................................................................. 3 
3 
4 
4 
2  Opening of the DG R&I workshop – Peter Dröll, Director Prosperity, DG R&I    6 
3  Introduction by Martin Spolc: background on sustainable finance ................. 7 
4  FIRST SESSION: The EU taxonomy and low-carbon industries ..................... 9 
9 
9 

4.1  Session objectives 
4.2  Session discussion 

5.1  Session objectives 
5.2  Session discussion 
5.3  Conclusions from the moderator 

5  SECOND SESSION: The EU taxonomy and European Partnerships ................ 12 
12 
13 
14 
6  THIRD SESSION: Sustainable finance and investment opportunities ............. 15 
15 
15 
17 
7  Closing remarks – Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General, DG R&I ............... 18 
ANNEX I SPEAKERS & MODERATORS ............................................................ 19 
ANNEX II CONCEPT NOTE AND AGENDA ....................................................... 24 
ANNEX III PRESENTATION .......................................................................... 28 

6.1  Session objectives 
6.2  Session discussion 
6.3  Conclusions from the moderator 

2 

 
1 

Introduction and background 

1.1  Overview 

With a view to the European Green Deal Communication1, European Green Deal 
Investment  Plan2  and  the  upcoming  renewed  sustainable  finance  strategy  with 
its  legislative  package,  DG  Research  and  Innovation  (DG  R&I)  organised  the 
workshop  ‘EU  sustainable  finance  taxonomy  –  an  opportunity  for  sustainable 
industrial R&I’ on 12 November 2020.  

This  report  summarises  the  main  session  discussions  and  input  gathered  from 
the  participants  in  the  Q&A  sessions.  The  specific  answers  to  participant 
questions  and  comments  made  during  the  workshop  are  reflected  in  the 
summaries  of  the  panellists’  interventions  in  the  report.  Comments  and 
questions  related  to  the  EU  taxonomy  and  technical  screening  criteria  will  be 
taken  into  account  in  discussions  in  the  Commission,  and  technical  details  will 
be forwarded to the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance. The presentation given 
at the event complements this summary. The Annexes contain the preparatory 
concept  note  and  agenda,  together  with  the  profiles  of  the  speakers  and 
moderators.  

Some  120  participants  from  both  the  public  and  private  sector  took  part  in 
discussions  with  the  speakers  and  gave  their  views  and  perspectives  in  three 
moderated  panel  sessions 
Industrial 
stakeholders and potential EU taxonomy users from the European Partnerships, 
policymakers from the Commission and experts from industry and the financial 
sector  discussed  the  future  challenges  in  linking  the  EU  taxonomy  and  the 
sustainable finance framework to technology and industrial investments in order 
to facilitate the transition towards sustainability.   

that  outlined 

the  way 

forward. 

The main objective of the workshop was to identify key aspects on how to place 
sustainable  finance  and  the  EU  taxonomy  in  the  context  of  industrial  research 
and  innovation  (R&I)  and  the  activities  of  the  European  Partnerships,  and  to 
help advance the R&I agenda of European industries towards the Green Deal’s 
objectives.   

1 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: The 
European Green Deal, COM/2019/640. 

2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the 
Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions: 
Sustainable Europe Investment Plan / European Green Deal Investment Plan, COM(2020) 21. 

3 

 
 
 
                                               
1.2  Workshop policy objectives  

  Discuss how to anticipate sustainable finance at the R&I stage and make the 
future  R&I  activities  of  European  Partnerships  sustainable  and  bankable: 
turning the challenges of EU taxonomy alignment into opportunities. Provide 
insights  into  the  drivers,  incentives  and  barriers  to  private  R&I  investment, 
addressing the Green Deal’s objectives.   

  Set  out  the  role  of  European  Partnerships  under  Horizon  Europe  and  of 
partnership members in terms of private investment. Describe the steps that 
industrial  stakeholders  in  the  partnerships  need  to  take  to  apply  the  EU 
taxonomy. Discuss how they can attract investors at an early stage.   

  Give feedback to the Commission on how to integrate the EU taxonomy into 
public  funding  of  R&I  and  how  to  encourage  projects  and  their  consortia  to 
make best use of the EU taxonomy in funding scale-ups and deployment. 

  Set out the role of the financial sector in speeding up the successful uptake 
of project results in line with sustainable finance. Answer questions like what 
information investors need to place their investments and to take R&I results 
to the market. 

1.3  Key messages across the three workshop sessions 

  Industry  confirmed  that  the  EU  taxonomy  could  be  a  de-risking  tool.  It  is 
considered  to  be  a  facilitation  factor  for  the  transition  and  an  incentive  for 
improvements.  

  Applying  the  EU  taxonomy  calls  for  a  certain  maturity  of  the  technologies 
and financial engineering, combining support and financing instruments into 
a strategy.  

  The means for financing and risk sharing are necessary for lower technology 
readiness levels. The right level for public and private financing needs further 
consideration (tipping point of public and private financing). 

  Research  is  expected  to  establish  the  evidence  base  for  developing  the  EU 

taxonomy further. 

  The  strong  need  for continuous  dialogue  between  industry,  researchers  and 
investors  was  highlighted.  The  European  Partnerships  are  the  right  vehicle 
for such a dialogue, and can offer a structured approach. 

  Attracting  investors  in  a  structured  dialogue  with  industry  as  part  of  the 
Horizon Europe partnerships is an important way to increase the impact. For 
example,  this  could  be  an  impact  panel  with  investors  in  the  framework  of 
the partnerships. 

4 

 
  The  need  for  a  stakeholder  dialogue  on  the  further  development  of  the  EU 
taxonomy  and  the  policy  (the  EU  Platform  on  Sustainable  Finance)  was 
highlighted, notably for R&I with deployment high on the policy agenda.  

  The  Commission  is  encouraged  to  introduce  sustainable  finance  elements 
and the EU taxonomy when preparing the Horizon Europe work programmes, 
adapted to the different solutions and on large-scale demonstrators.  

  Including  R&I  in  the  EU  taxonomy  is  a  priority,  especially  in  the  context  of 

enabling and transition activities. 

  From  a  venture  capital  perspective,  the  lack  of  understanding  in  the 
community  on  a  common  standardised  methodology  represents  a  limiting 
factor  in  terms  of  allowing  more  capital  to  be  allocated.  However,  the  EU 
taxonomy cannot help because in Europe typically large allocators of capital 
are  much  less  active  as  investors  in  venture  capital,  particularly  in  sectors 
where science and engineering are prevalent. 

  The scope of the Climate  Awareness Bonds (CABs)3 issued by the European 
Investment  Bank  (EIB)  will  be  extended  to  R&D,  low  carbon,  and  electric 
transport.  Bond  proceeds  can  be  dedicated  to  R&D  projects  in  climate 
change mitigation. 

  Regarding  the  information  asymmetry  between  R&I  stakeholders  and 
investors,  the  EU  taxonomy  is  seen  as  a  useful  tool.  Classification  and  the 
development of reporting will play a crucial role while ensuring flexibility. 

  The  R&D  role  will  also  be  essential  in  defining  and  setting  the  criteria, 
especially in terms of transition activities, given the time differences among 
sectors in carrying out the transition. In particular, some industries will need 
much  more  time,  and  understanding  the  R&D  role  in  terms  of  these 
transition  activities  in  certain  sectors  on  what  will  be  allowed  or  not  is 
crucial. 

3  CAB  proceeds  are  allocated  to  the  EIB’s  lending  to  activities  that  substantially  contribute  to 
climate  change  mitigation.  These  fields  were  the  pillar  of  the  2007  EU  energy  action  plan, 
when 
bond  market: 
on 
https://www.eib.org/en/investor_relations/cab/index.htm 

launched 

green 

CAB 

first 

was 

the 

the 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                               
2 

Opening  of  the  DG  R&I  workshop  –  Dr  Peter  Dröll,  Director 
Prosperity, DG R&I 

Peter  Dröll  set  the  scene  for  the  workshop  discussions.  He  first  introduced  the 
workshop objectives, outlining the importance of the topic in the context of the 
beginning  of  the  recovery,  combined  with  the  need  for  green  and  digital 
transformation and keeping track of them as main policy objectives. Given the 
huge investments needed for the twin transition, public investment will serve as 
a  lever  for  private  financing.  In  this  context,  the  investment  needs  are 
important, and the EU taxonomy will help identify which investments are good 
for sustainability. 

R&I  brings  improvements  and  is  key  to  the  decarbonisation  and  sustainable 
energy system, where the EU taxonomy can help make it happen. For this to be 
a success, we need R&I uptake – bringing solutions to the market and building 
on good examples.  

In  this  regard,  the  key  objective  of  the  workshop  was  to  understand  how 
sustainable finance/EU taxonomy can fit into the planning of industrial R&I and 
the activities of the envisaged European Partnerships. 

There  were  four  points  to  be  considered  for  the  outcomes  of  the  workshop 
discussions: 

1.  Include  the  ‘do  no  significant  harm’  principle  in  Horizon  Europe  (including 
missions and European Partnerships). 

2.  Pilot  the  application  of  the  technical  screening  criteria  in  selected 
demonstration projects. 

3.  Encourage  Horizon  Europe  partnerships  to  develop  the  EU  taxonomy  and 
become involved in greening their activities. 

4.  Align  the  accelerator  programme  of  the  European  Innovation  Council  (EIC) 
for breakthrough technologies with the EU taxonomy. 

All stakeholders should be involved as many of the results will stem from R&I. 
Two important stakeholders – the energy-intensive industries and the hydrogen 
economy  –  gave  their  perspective  on  involvement  and  contribution.  Three 
European  Partnership  candidates  relevant  for  the  workshop  objectives  and 
discussions  were  on  the  panels.  The  European  Partnerships  are  key  to  the 
success, and the Commission aims to sign memorandums of understanding with 
new  European  Partnerships  in  April  2021.  Investors  should  also  be  involved  at 
an early stage. 

Discussion on the EU taxonomy is ongoing, but the aim of the workshop was to 
discuss the concrete steps with the panellists and participants to take it to the 
next level. 

6 

 
 
3 

Introduction  by  Martin  Spolc:  background  on  sustainable 
finance 

Martin Spolc, Head of Unit B2 Sustainable Finance in DG FISMA, then presented 
the  state  of  play  of  sustainable  finance,  linking  it  with  the  opportunities  for 
contributing to and from R&I. Sustainable finance provides the financial sector, 
business and a number of other stakeholders with enormous opportunities. The 
success  of  the  policy  itself  requires  a  few  main  conditions  to  be  met:  political 
support,  strong  private-public  sector  partnership  and  the  credibility  of 
sustainable finance tools. R&I is important for the success of the EU taxonomy 
and sustainable finance as well as for a comprehensive strategy on how R&I fits 
into sustainable finance. 

The first strategy on sustainable finance (2018) is no longer fit for the context 
described  in  the  opening  speech  by  Peter  Dröll  (Green  Deal  and  the  twin 
challenge,  the  COVID  crisis  and  recovery).  The  Commission  will  publish  a  new 
fully-fledged  sustainable  finance  strategy  in  2021  based  on  stakeholder 
engagement and feedback from a recent public consultation (650 responses). 

The EU taxonomy is at the heart of the sustainable finance strategy. There were 
several  reasons  for  introducing  the  taxonomy:  absence  of  clarity  in  meeting 
environmental objectives, difficulty to screen sustainable investments, the need 
for  a  classification  system  to  determine  which  economic  activities  substantially 
contribute  to  sustainability  objectives.  Stakeholders  should  see  the  EU 
taxonomy  as  a  useful  tool  to  scale  up  sustainable  investments  and  a  tool  for 
their transition pathways. The main principle of the Taxonomy Regulation4 is to 
bring  transparency  to  the  market.  The  only  regulatory  requirement  is  to 
disclose  to  what extent  and how  the  EU  taxonomy  is  used.  The  tool  should  be 
as  user-friendly  as  possible  so  that  taxonomy  uptake  is  as  broad  as  possible. 
The  Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance made a major contribution 
to  this  (operating until  September  2020).  Its  final  report  on  climate mitigation 
and  climate  adaptation  was  embedded  in  the  upcoming  delegated  acts 
scheduled  for  adoption  by  the  end  of  the  year.  The  Commission  was  expected 
to publish the drafts for public feedback5 for a period of 1 month soon after the 
workshop. 

A strong partnership between the public and private sector is necessary for the 
success of the EU taxonomy to succeed, and the Commission needs to engage 
in  structured  dialogue  with  the  stakeholders  who  can  objectively  help  develop 

4 Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on 
the  establishment  of  a  framework  to  facilitate  sustainable  investment,  and  amending 
Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (Text with EEA relevance). 

5 The draft texts of the delegated act (Delegated Regulation) published for public consultation: 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12302-Climate-
change-mitigation-and-adaptation-taxonomy 

7 

 
 
                                               
this  taxonomy.  A  new  expert  group,  the  EU  Platform  on  Sustainable  Finance 
with  its  50  members,  is  tasked  with  helping  the  Commission  develop  a 
technique  of  screening  for  other  environmental  objectives.  The  platform  will 
also  work  on  the  criteria  for  sustainable  activities,  which  have  to  be  science-
based, technologically neutral and updated regularly. Another special role of the 
platform  is  to  develop  a  social  taxonomy  and  a  taxonomy  of  substantial 
contribution for negative and low-impact activities that aims to help companies 
to transition to better performance.  

The renewed sustainable finance strategy identifies the role of R&I: 

1. R&I interaction on the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance – outreach plan to 
be disclosed soon, also targeting specific expertise. Criteria as introduced in the 
legislative  framework  should  be  objective  and  science-based.  The  platform 
should comply here with the Taxonomy Regulation, and R&I is a key element in 
meeting  this  requirement.  The  platform  will  reach  out  to  stakeholders  and 
interested industry parties that can connect with each other even if they are not 
members. 

2.  Flagging  the  role  of  research  in  establishing  evidence  as  the  criteria  will  be 
updated  regularly  based  on  research.  Some  technical  screening  criteria  are 
quantitative  criteria  that  require  concrete  reduction 
for  a  substantial 
contribution and are therefore supported by evidence. 

3.  The  EU  taxonomy  is  not  set  up  to  cover  only  existing  green  activities.  The 
aim  is  to  cover  many  economic  sectors  that  are  currently  polluting,  but  where 
the  potential  to  improve  is  the  biggest,  i.e.  transitional  activities.  Investing  in 
technologies will help mitigate current pollution and will evolve over time, while 
the technical screening criteria will be tightened gradually.   

On  the  other  hand,  the  enabling  activities  that  help  stakeholders  meet  these 
thresholds  are  those  where  R&I  is  an  excellent  example  of  such  an  activity. 
Proposed  are  research,  applied  research,  experimental  development  in  natural 
sciences  and  engineering  of  solutions,  processes,  technologies  and  other 
products  dedicated  to  the  reduction,  avoidance  or  removal  of  greenhouse  gas 
emissions.  This  is  a  ground-breaking  approach,  providing  a  lot  to  support  for 
developing  the  EU  taxonomy  and  support  to  stakeholders  in  their  transition 
pathway. 

When  it  comes  to  international  outreach,  the  International  Platform  on 
Sustainable Finance is at the heart of the global response. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
4 

FIRST SESSION: The EU taxonomy and low-carbon industries 

The session was organised as a panel discussion with Roman Doubrava (Deputy 
Head  of  Unit,  Finance  for  Low  Carbon  Innovation  in  DG  CLIMA);  Pierre 
Barthélemy  (Executive  Director  Research  and  Innovation,  CEFIC),  Koen 
Coppenholle  (Chief  Executive,  CEMBUREAU)  and  with  Doris  Schröcker, 
Industrial  Research,  Innovation  and  Investments  Agendas,  DG  R&I  acting  as 
moderator. 

4.1  Session objectives 

 

insights into the Innovation Fund and potential link with the EU taxonomy; 

  main  challenges  to  integrate  the  EU  taxonomy  into  the  R&I  investment 

agendas of industries; 

  preparing for the EU taxonomy at the R&I stage – large companies and small 

and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);  

 

future role of sustainable finance in the Low Carbon Industry Alliance and in 
European Partnerships under Horizon Europe. 

4.2  Session discussion 

Roman  Doubrava  presented  the  outcome  of  the  first  Innovation  Fund  call, 
which is a key instrument for supporting innovative low-carbon technologies in 
energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and 
energy storage. For  2020-2030, the Innovation  Fund  will allocate  over  EUR  10 
billion. The Innovation Fund is financed from the auctioning of allowances under 
the EU emissions trading system. The first (unprocessed)  results  based  on the 
call  for  submissions  from  large-scale  projects  that  closed  on  29  October  2020 
are  encouraging.  The  call  attracted  more  than  300  applications  asking  for  a 
total  of  EUR  21.7  billion,  and  covers  projects  to  be  implemented  in  all  EU 
countries,  Iceland  and  Norway.  All  sectors  are  covered,  with  58  renewable 
energy  projects,  204  energy-intensive  industry  applications,  56  hydrogen 
projects  (production  and  use),  35  energy  storage  projects  and  14  carbon 
capture and storage projects. However,  there are many cross-cutting projects, 
so it is likely that there will be more projects that address e.g. various forms of 
hydrogen. The number of submissions is a positive sign, showing the industry’s 
eagerness  and  maturity  to  invest  in  these  technologies.  The  overall  goal  of  a 
reduction  in  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  the  applications  is  also  very 
encouraging:  1.2  billion  tonnes  of  CO2  over  the  10  years  for  which  the 
Innovation Fund can support the awarded projects.  

The  best  projects  will  be  invited  to  the  next  stage,  with  the  first  grants  to  be 
awarded in the second half of 2021. As one of the fund’s objectives is to deliver 
a  portfolio  of  mature  projects,  the  EIB  will  provide  project  development 
assistance  to  improve  the  maturity  of  eligible  projects.  The  call  for small-scale 

9 

 
projects with a volume of EUR 100 million was launched on 1 December 2020, 
and closes on 10 March 2021. 

The Innovation Fund aims to bring technologies to the market and enable them 
to  stay  there.  This  is  one  of  the reasons  for  its  10-year monitoring period  and 
up to 4 years for reaching a financial close. It is embedded in the structure that 
the  fund  supports  projects  throughout  their  implementation.  However,  as  the 
key  milestone  of  all  projects  is  to  reach  their  financial  close  within  4  years, 
additional complementary financing, whether private or public, will be essential. 
This  principle  requires  projects  with  a  mature  business  plan  and  a  sound 
financial  structure.  When  it  comes  to  reflecting  the  EU  taxonomy  in  the 
Innovation  Fund,  the  fund’s  selection  criteria  and  methodologies  are  already 
closely aligned. The taxonomy will play a pivotal role in driving private financing 
towards low-carbon technologies and projects also supported by the Innovation 
Fund. Further work on alignment and definitions of sustainable products within 
the framework of the EU taxonomy may be needed.   

Pierre Barthélemy addressed some of the main challenges to integrate the EU 
taxonomy  into  the  R&I  investment  agenda.  He  highlighted  the  importance  of 
the chemical industry for the Green Deal ambitions as it is involved in so many 
value  chains.  Key  innovations  include  new  production  processes  with  direct 
electrification, use of hydrogen, use of different and alternative feedstock (bio-
based, CO2 or even waste as a source to feed the chemical processes) and the 
development  of  advanced  materials  for  downstream  value  chains.  Access  to 
finance is very important – it is estimated that hundreds of billions of euro will 
be needed for the transition in the decades ahead. 

The challenge is to have a common understanding of sustainability, a commonly 
accepted  definition  of  what  a  sustainable  product  is.  We  need  a  common 
definition  and  a  methodology  for  assessing  sustainability.  This  is  of  high 
importance for the chemical industry. Nowadays, a set of criteria and common 
understanding  are  missing  to  be  able  to  define  a  sustainable  technology, 
product  or  activity.  This  is  also  of  high  importance  for  R&I  in  the  chemical 
industry  and  where  the  EU  taxonomy  can  contribute:  by  bringing  common 
understanding  and  clarification  as  well  as  harmonisation  of  technology 
assessments (sustainable or not). 

When it comes to the R&I context of ‘do no significant harm’ as a fundamental 
principle of the EU taxonomy, we need to have recognised assessment methods 
based  on  the  concept  of  safe  and  sustainable  by  design.  Rather  than  a  list  of 
activities, we need a common definition and widely accepted methodologies and 
criteria  to  assess  the  sustainability  of  technologies,  products  or  activities  to 
provide clear scientific evidence for the choices we make.  

The  discussion  on  the  EU  taxonomy  is  very  important  for  chemical  companies 
as sustainability is getting higher and higher on the agenda of executive boards. 
The  European  Chemical  Industry  Council  (CEFIC)  is  committed  to  helping 
develop the taxonomy and has been selected as a member  of the EU Platform 
on  Sustainable  Finance.  The  results  of  R&I  represent  many  options  with 
technologies and a combination of different technologies, which can create new 
outcomes. It is encouraging to have R&I recognised as an enabling activity. The 
advice  for  its  further  positioning  and  for  stimulating  technologies  with  high 

10 

 
potential  is  to  have  a  certain  flexibility  in  lower  technology  readiness  levels 
(TRLs).  

To maximise the positive outcome and support from the EU taxonomy, the best 
option  is  to  combine  different  sources  of  funding  and  financing.  There  is  a 
strong  appetite  for  R&I  funding  sources,  which  is  greater  than  the  available 
resources.  This  is  supported  by  the  large  oversubscription  recorded  for  the 
Innovation  Fund’s  first  call  and  the  past  success  rates  of  Horizon  2020.  Many 
good projects need funding. Combining the financial resources better will bring 
huge benefits. 

Koen Coppenholle started highlighting the importance of the cement industry 
to  the  Green  Deal’s  objectives.  There  is  already  a  roadmap  aimed  at  carbon 
neutrality  along  the  cement  and  concrete  value  chain  by  2050,  with 
intermediate  targets  of  -30%  (cement)  and  -40%  (concrete)  by  2030  and  a 
series  of  projects  and  pathways  underpinning  the  innovation.  He  also  covered 
some  of  the  main  challenges  for  the  cement  industry  to  integrate  the  EU 
taxonomy  into  the  R&I  investment  agenda.  Sustainable  finance  should  be 
looking at the possibility for each project to contribute to the overall target. In 
some cases, viable projects may carry financial and market risk – this is where 
public  financing,  such  as  the  Innovation  Fund,  comes  in  to  mitigate  the  risk. 
One  of  the core  needs  is  to  ensure  predictability  for project  financing and that 
private financing gets complemented by well-coordinated and consistent public 
financing. A ‘one-stop shop’ for access to public funding along the TRLs, also in 
terms of application ad notification procedures, would be helpful.  

The  EU  taxonomy  framework  covers  a  wide  range  of  activities.  However,  an 
activity that does not substantially contribute to emission reduction can still be 
eligible for sustainable financing, and this needs to be clarified. The relationship 
between sustainable finance and R&I, outlined in Martin Spolc’s  speech,  points 
to  transitional  and  enabling  activities,  relevant  for  achieving  a  result  over 
multiple  projects.  It  can  cover  how  sustainable  finance  for  each  individual 
project will contribute to the overall targets  – not as a single project, but as a 
bundle of projects. 

Roman  Doubrava’s  presentation  of  the  Innovation  Fund  showed  that  there  is 
plenty  of  public  financing  available.  The  financial  and  market  risk  of  R&I 
activities needs to be mitigated in the early phases. Public funding intervenes to 
mitigate  that  risk.  However,  a  certain  risk  remains  even  in  the  pilot  and 
demonstration  phase.  What  is  the  tipping  point,  and  at  what  level  of  research 
will  private  financing  come  in?  From  the  perspective  of  the  project  lifecycle, 
companies will need to assess financing in the different TRL phases and look at 
project viability in its totality.  

As  a  bundle  of  projects  is  necessary  for  companies  to  achieve  the  emission 
reduction,  these  questions  become  more  and  more  relevant.  When  companies 
get  access  to  funding,  they  need  a  strategy  for  how  to  combine  the  different 
types of financing. The start-ups feeding into further TRLs of big companies are 
experiencing  similar  financing  problems.  This  is  also  a  starting  point  for  the 
investor  community  to  step  up  and  support  an  action  folding  into  larger 
investments.  Investors  should  look  at  the  substance,  facilitate  discussion,  and 
consider that EU taxonomy alignment is important and not exclusive in the first 
place.  The  taxonomy  should  remain  as  a  facilitating  factor  for  R&I  in  the 

11 

 
pathway to the low-carbon transition by providing resources and investment in 
green activities and technologies. 

The  return  on  investment  (ROI)  remains  a  key  parameter  in  deciding  on 
investment projects. An important point is also the complementarity of financial 
resources. Could national support/state aid also be provided and be applied to a 
project and if so, how do we align application procedures for EU funds and the 
state  aid  notification  procedure?  Financial  engineering  plays  a  central  role  in 
R&I deployment.  

4.3  Conclusions from the moderator 

There  is  considerable  industry  interest  and  potential  for  mature  projects  that 
develop  green  technologies.  The  high  number  of  proposals  in  the  first 
Innovation  Fund  call  bears  this  out.  There  is  a  need  for  coherent  investments 
and financial engineering when it comes to R&I and the Green Deal objectives. 
The  EU  taxonomy  is  seen  by  the  industry  as  an  incentive.  Industry’s  role, 
especially  its  R&I  activities,  is  considered  to  provide  the  evidence  for  the 
taxonomy to turn the work and results into evidence for its future development 
and  application.  Industry  is  strongly  encouraged  to  engage  and  enrich  the 
discussion  on  the  EU  Platform  on  Sustainable  Finance  and  beyond.  The  future 
debate  on  the  EU  taxonomy  and  European  Partnerships  will  need  to  address 
what role they can play in the evidence and also in promoting the taxonomy. 

5 

SECOND  SESSION:  The  EU 
Partnerships 

taxonomy  and  European 

The  session  was  organised  as  a  panel  discussion  with  Karin  Aussersdorfer 
(Voestalpine  AG);  Àngels  Orduña  (Executive  Director,  P4Planet/A.SPIRE)  and 
Nicolas Brahy (Managing Director, Hydrogen Europe), with Jürgen Tiedje, Head 
of Unit Industrial Transformation, DG R&I acting as moderator. 

5.1  Session objectives 

  set out the role of future European Partnerships under Horizon Europe and of 

partnership members in terms of private investment;  

  describe the next steps that industrial stakeholders in the partnerships could 
take to apply the EU taxonomy and discuss how they can pull ininvestors at 
an early stage;  

  give feedback to the Commission on how to integrate the EU taxonomy into 
public  funding  of  R&I  and  how  to  encourage  projects  and  their  consortia  to 
make best use of the taxonomy in funding scale-ups and deployment. 

12 

 
 
5.2  Session discussion 

Àngels  Orduña  started  addressing  the  question  of  the  contribution  to 
investment de-risking and the opportunities that stem from introducing the EU 
taxonomy.  All  industry  sectors  would  welcome  the  deployment  of  sustainable 
financial  instruments  to  achieve  the  ambitious  climate  neutrality  targets  in 
Europe.  The  A.SPIRE  and  future  P4Planet  partnership  welcomed  the  fact  that 
the  Taxonomy  Regulation  and  their  future  delegated  acts  seek  to  significantly 
contribute  to  the  Green  Deal.  The  EU  taxonomy  needs  to  be  inclusive  and 
technology-neutral  to  have  the  highest  impact,  and  has  to  create  competitive 
advantages  for  industry  along  the  entire  value  chains  and  industry  lifecycles. 
Energy-intensive industries affect an exceptionally high number of value chains 
and are therefore key to the implementation of the Green Deal. There is a need 
for  a  better  alignment  of  TRL  objectives  across  programmes  to  support 
innovation activities up to TRL 9 beyond Horizon Europe. 

The EU taxonomy needs to offer incentives so that sustainable investments are 
economically  and  competitively  attractive.  It  is  expected  to  make  the  future 
objectives  of  partnerships  more  sustainable.  The  stability  of  regulation  and 
framework  conditions  are  a  crucial  point  for  industry  and investors  in  terms  of 
their  long-term  investment  strategies.  It  is  also  important  to  have  a  blended 
approach for sustainable financing instruments. 

The  industries  that  are  part  of  the  future  partnership  Processes4Planet 
estimated  that  R&I  investments  of  around  EUR  19  billion  are  needed  before 
2030  and EUR  32  billion  up to  2050  –  but  hundreds  of  billions  and  even  more 
will  be  needed  for  the  rollout.  It  is  therefore  crucial  to  establish  a  strategic 
dialogue  on  the  impact  phase.  For  this,  A.SPIRE  proposes  establishing  an 
impact  panel  under  the  umbrella  of  the future  partnership Processes4Planet to 
have  a  regular  and  structured  dialogue  with  Member  States’  representatives, 
banks and private financing, focusing on key aspects. These could be the status 
of  technological  developments  under  Horizon  Europe,  the  potential  to  have 
them  deployed  at  full  scale,  to  address  inter-sectoral  priorities  and  to  make 
specific recommendations for framework conditions. 

On expectations of the future work programme, the EU taxonomy is still under 
development,  with  no  experience  gained  so  far.  Any  integration  into  the  first 
work programme for 2021-2022 therefore requires careful consideration – ‘one 
size  fits’  solutions  should be  avoided.  A  dialogue  on  how  to  go  forward is  very 
important  in  the  next  2  years  –  this  should  encourage  rather  than  limit 
businesses. 

Karin  Aussersdorfer  also  addressed  the  question  on  opportunities  for  the 
industry  and  European  Partnerships  related  to  the  EU  taxonomy.  There  is  an 
enormous  amount  of  money  needed  to  implement  carbon-free  processes. 
Decarbonisation  of  the  industry  will  require  step  changes  over  some  decades 
and it will only be a success if industry manages to reduce carbon and remain 
competitive at the same time, which will require an energy system change from 
fuels  to  renewables.  The  EU  taxonomy  can  certainly  play  a  significant  role. 
However,  its  criteria  should  allow  for  transitional  activities  in  a  global  context 
and should use an integrated lifecycle approach to take steel into account as an 
enabler for CO2 mitigation in multiple value chains. 

13 

 
The EU taxonomy has the potential to act as a catalyst for future partnerships 
and could speed up research processes,  leading to more effective deployment, 
and  motivate  industry  and  the  finance  sector  to  work  closer  together  with 
science.  The  Horizon  Europe  partnerships  could  act  as  a  reference  point  for 
integrating the EU taxonomy.  

Nicolas Brahy presented the Clean Hydrogen partnership’s perspective on the 
opportunities and contribution from the EU taxonomy. In general, the hydrogen 
sector  welcomes  the  principles  of  the  taxonomy  because  it  makes  hydrogen 
more  visible  and  identifies  it  as  a  significant  contributor  to  the  sustainable 
industry transition. 

Hydrogen  Europe  sees  the  EU  taxonomy  as  an  opportunity,  but  also  considers 
future implications for compliance mechanisms and the consequences of applied 
taxonomy. The taxonomy criteria currently appear stricter and more demanding 
for  actual  hydrogen  production  compared  to  industrial  sectors  that  use 
hydrogen as an energy source or feedstock.  

EU taxonomy compliance and certification should avoid a complex bureaucratic 
process. Hydrogen Europe would welcome a standardisation and labelling tool: 
for instance, projects could be identified as taxonomy-compliant to facilitate the 
uptake  of  results.  The  EU  taxonomy  should  be  applied  with  a  high  level  of 
flexibility:  the  results  of  technological  development  need  to  be  compliant,  not 
the development process as such. There is a need for flexibility with particular 
regard to lower TRLs. Anything that could facilitate the uptake of R&I results is 
welcome  –  e.g.  the  possibility  for  partnerships  to  issue  a  label,  including  a 
review of the taxonomy criteria as part of the label. 

Expectations for the next work programme: R&I should not be the first sector to 
apply  the  EU  taxonomy.  First,  feasibility  should  be  considered  to  better 
understand  how  to  apply  it  in  practice.  The  Hydrogen  Partnership  will  be 
approved by summer 2021 at the earliest. 

5.3  Conclusions from the moderator 

The  EU  taxonomy  is  seen  as  an  opportunity  for  future  partnerships  under 
Horizon  Europe  to  help  the  industry  with  its  transition  towards  climate 
neutrality. It complements R&I with the element of sustainable finance. There is 
still  a  need  for  a  further  and  ongoing  dialogue  on  the  EU  taxonomy  with 
partnerships  and  stakeholders  on  the  best  way  to  organise  this  dialogue. 
Impact  panels  with  investors  and financial  organisations  as  part  of  partnership 
governance could be important in organising this strategic dialogue. The future 
debate on  the  EU  taxonomy  will  need  to  address  a  broader  lifecycle  approach, 
including value chain analysis, the aspect of technology neutrality and readiness 
levels in order to incentivise improvements made by industry. 

14 

 
 
6 

THIRD  SESSION:  Sustainable 
opportunities 

finance  and 

investment 

The session was moderated by Gwennaël Joliff-Botrel, Head of Unit R&I Investment 
Agendas,  DG  R&I.  Speakers  on  the  panel  discussion  were  Helena  Viñes  Fiestas 
(Deputy  Global  Head  of  Sustainability,  BNP  Paribas  Asset  Management/Member  of 
the  EU  Platform  on  Sustainable  Finance),  Peter  Anderson  (Senior  Climate  Change 
Specialist, EIB) and Martin Bruncko (Founder and Managing Partner, Steam Venture 
Capital/Member of the Investment Committee of the EIC Fund). 

6.1  Session objectives 

The  general  objective  of  the  session  was  to  discuss  how  financiers6  consider 
sustainable investments today and whether the EU taxonomy will change things 
for  tomorrow.  The  session  provided  insights  into  the  EIB’s  transformation  into 
Europe’s  fully-fledged  climate  bank  and  R&D  investment  opportunities,  the 
views  of  a  venture  capitalist  and  a  large  international  commercial  bank,  and 
insights from the ongoing work of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance.give 
feedback  to  the  Commission  on  how  to  integrate  the  EU  taxonomy  into  public 
funding of R&I and how to encourage projects and their consortia to make best 
use of the taxonomy in funding scale-ups and deployment. 

6.2  Session discussion 

Helena  Viñes  Fiestas  addressed  the  role  of  R&I  today  and  the  expected 
changes  that  the  EU  taxonomy  will  bring.  Until  recently,  asset  management 
firms carried out green investments based on the percentage of green revenues 
that were generated in relation to the activities classified by investors. Following 
the  2015  Paris  Climate  Change  Conference  and  the  Special  Report  on  Global 
Warming of 1.5 °C by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2018, 
the  approach  changed,  leading  to  a  huge  increase  in  green  investments.  As  a 
result,  capital  expenditure  became  the  fundamental  variable  that  large 
allocators of capital look at. Knowing what sort of potential acquisitions will be 
carried out is now crucial, as well as being aware of portfolio diversification and 
what type of investments will be made in R&I in order to sustain the transition 
to decarbonisation. 

Given  the  role  of  the  EU  taxonomy  in  mitigating  the  asymmetry  between  R&I 
stakeholders  and  investors,  there  is  still  an  issue  related  to  R&I  classification 
and  reporting.  Flexibility  is  necessary,  but  ‘greenwashing’7  needs  to  be 
prevented.  The  EU  taxonomy  will  reduce  asymmetry,  but  it  will  not  resolve  all 
the issues related to R&D opacity. In addition to the taxonomy, further work is 

6 Financiers: venture capital funds/bankers/investment bankers/fund managers. 

7 Process or practice of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about 
how a company's products are more environmentally sound.  

15 

 
                                               
necessary  to  guarantee  proper  comparison  methods  and  account  for  R&D 
through  the  Non-Financial  Reporting  Directive8  (NFRD)  in  order  to  understand 
which expense types can be counted as R&D. 

The  EU  taxonomy,  considered  as  a  common  measurement  tool,  has 
strengthened  the  use  of  capital  expenditures  (CAPEX)  and  operational 
expenditures (OPEX) as key variables in the selection of different funds. This is 
largely  because  of  the  taxonomy  reporting  obligation,  which  analyses  funds  in 
relation to how they align with it in terms of CAPEX, OPEX or turnover. Ensuring 
that the EU taxonomy includes R&I will be a priority, especially in the context of 
enabling and transition activities.  

There  is  also  the  question  of  how  investors  are  preparing  for  EU  taxonomy 
adoption.  We  need  to  measure  how  climate-related  funds  align  with  the 
taxonomy  again,  which  will  help  in  identifying  potential  problems  and  making 
adjustments.  A  large-scale  exercise  has  been  conducted  to  look  at  when 
climate-related investments align with the taxonomy. Because of a lack of data 
and  reporting,  praxis9  and  estimations  have  been  used.  Specifically,  a 
collaboration  with  different  data  providers  has  been  developed,  and  their  own 
taxonomy solution has been used in order to help industries understand where 
they  are.  Moreover,  an  analysis  of  the  EU  taxonomy  has  been  carried  out 
looking at different sectors. The aim was to understand the financial correlation 
between  environmental  performance  based  on  the  taxonomy  and  financial 
performance. 

Martin  Bruncko  also  expressed  his  investor’s  perspective  on  the  role  of  R&I 
today and what changes are expected with the upcoming application of the EU 
taxonomy.  From  the  point  of  view  of  venture  capitalists,  R&D  is  critical  when 
making  investment  decisions,  especially  because  it  allows  investors  to 
determine whether a technology can lead to market opportunities and continue 
the decarbonisation process. 

Currently,  the  EU  taxonomy  will  probably  not  have  an  impact  on  venture 
capital.  Little  venture  capital  is  being  provided  nowadays  because  of  the 
concerns/awareness related to the lack of a common standardised methodology 
able  to  determine  the  green  investments  helping  the  decarbonisation  process. 
This  is  a  limiting  factor  in  terms  of  allowing  more  capital  to  be  allocated.  In 
addition,  in  Europe  typical  large  allocators  of  capital  are  much  less  active  as 
investors  in  venture  capital,  particularly  in  sectors  where  science  and 
engineering are prevalent. 

When  it  comes  to  the  role  of  EU  taxonomy  in  mitigating  the  asymmetry 
between  R&I  stakeholders  and  investors,  the  taxonomy  will  not  help  remove 
information asymmetry for venture capitalists, who are at the beginning of the 
value  chain.  Before  making  investment  decisions,  it  is  precisely  the  role  of 
venture capitalists to remove that kind of issue. 

8 Directive 2014/95/EU – also called the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) – lays down 
the rules on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by large companies. 

9 An habitual procedure, habit of doing a specific activity, especially in relation to activities that 
are regulated just by general or incomplete rules, not codified by a law or a regulation. 

16 

 
                                               
Peter Anderson started by discussing the EIB and research, development and 
innovation (R&D&I) projects that contribute to climate/green objectives and the 
reopening of CABs by the EIB. For a decade, the EIB has been investing in R&D 
projects  with  climate  actions  of  around  EUR  1  billion  per  year.  It  focuses  in 
particular on low-carbon transport and renewable energy, from early-stage R&D 
right  through  to  the  deployment  of  breakthrough  projects.  The  EIB  has  been 
working  to  develop  a  methodology  for  tracking  climate  finance  actions.  Within 
the EU taxonomy that aims to support the transition to climate mitigation, R&D 
is  seen  as  a  contributor  to  enable  green  activities.  As  mentioned  by  the 
Commission,  R&I  will  be  included  in  the  taxonomy  delegated  act  that  defines 
the  technical  screening  criteria  for  economic  activities  to  be  considered 
taxonomy-aligned.  The  EIB  will  quickly  need  to  look  at  how  it  will  be 
implemented  going  forward.  In  addition,  the  EIB  climate  action  target  will  be 
extended by up to 50% in 2025, and will include other taxonomy objectives. As 
a  result,  the  EIB  will  start  to  look  more  into  activities  such  as  the  circular 
economy, pollution prevention, and water resources.  

CABs  were  recalibrated  in  June  2020.  Up  to  now,  they  focused  on  renewable 
energies and energy efficiency, but the scope will now be extended to R&D, low 
carbon and electric transport. Bond proceeds will be dedicated to R&D projects 
involved in climate mitigation. In essence, the EIB applies the same criteria for 
climate lending aligned with the EU taxonomy as it does for re-financing CABs. 
Since R&D&I is not covered in the proposal by the Technical Expert Group, the 
EIB is keen to see more details when it comes to the delegated act. 

Peter  Anderson  also  addressed  the  question  of  the  role  of  EU  taxonomy  in 
mitigating  the  asymmetry  between  R&I  stakeholders  and  investors.  The 
taxonomy creates a common language for all stakeholders in the market, but a 
lack of information related to the demonstration of taxonomy criteria alignment 
has  to  be  prevented.  This  will  help  companies  when  providing  the  required 
information to financial institutions. 

The  delegated  act  should  contain  criteria  to  allow  R&D  objectives  to  be 
assessed,  while  at  the  same  time  guaranteeing  flexibility,  especially  for  early-
stage  innovators.  EU  taxonomy  will  also  be  essential  in  deciding  R&D’s  role  in 
defining  the  criteria,  especially  in  terms  of  transition  activities,  given  the  time 
differences among sectors in carrying out the transition. 

6.3  Conclusions from the moderator 

EU  taxonomy  is  expected  to  be  a  tool  that  will  evolve,  and  the  contribution  of 
stakeholders is crucial to make it a useful tool to work with. Everyone needs to 
feel responsible for having a solid taxonomy in Europe. 

The  dynamic  related  to  the  application  of  EU  taxonomy  is  very  different  when 
talking  about  the  EIB,  institutional  banks  or  commercial  ones.  Ensuring  a 
stronger relationship between these stakeholders, venture capitalists and SMEs, 
without  adding  a  layer  of  complexity  or  bureaucracy,  represents  a  priority  for 
R&I.  

EU  taxonomy  should  stimulate  stakeholders  to  be  much  more  concrete, 
especially  for  the  industries  in  transition.  The  aim  is  to  improve  common 
understanding and increase transparency (e.g. avoiding greenwashing). 

17 

 
7 

Closing  remarks  –  Patrick  Child,  Deputy  Director-General,  DG 
R&I 

Patrick Child presented some of the key takeaways from the event. Sustainable 
finance  is  about  redirecting  finance  to  sustainable  solutions.  We  have  to  bring 
this together in the post-COVID recovery. This needs to be visible and have an 
impact for our economy and individuals. Sustainable solutions need to be built 
on  R&I,  and  we  are  actively  engaged  in  the  legislative  and  policy  actions  on 
sustainable  finance.  We  are  advancing  in  the  implementation  of  the  EU 
taxonomy, but also  in the implementation of Horizon Europe  and specific work 
programmes.  The  two  processes  should  be  synchronised.  Horizon  Europe  is 
currently being designed with an investment-driven mindset, where: 

  35% of the budget will be dedicated to tackling climate change; 

  the Horizon 2020 European Green Deal call is ongoing, with a budget of EUR 

1 billion; 

  the  Commission  will  continue  to  cooperate  with  the  EIB  and  the  European 
Investment  Fund  on  innovative  financial  instruments  for  green  recovery 
through the EIC.  

Overall,  we  have  excellent  opportunities  to  employ  sustainable  finance  and 
especially  private  funds  for  the  accelerated  upscale  and  deployment  of  R&I 
results.  

Three main takeaways from the workshop:  

1.  The  EU  taxonomy  can  be  a  valuable  de-risking  tool  and  an  incentive  for 
improvements  in  order  to  facilitate  the  transition.  Applying  the  EU  taxonomy 
calls  for  a  certain  maturity  from  the  technologies,  and  financial  engineering, 
combining  support  and  financial  instruments,  needs  to  be  made  part  of 
innovation  and  investment  agendas.  Conversely,  research  is  expected  to 
establish the evidence base for developing the EU taxonomy further. 

2.  We need a strong dialogue between industry, researchers and investors. The 
European  Partnerships  are  the  right  vehicle  in  a  structured  approach  (with  the 
example of an impact panel). 

3.    The  Commission  is  encouraged  to  introduce  elements  linked  to  sustainable 
finance  and  the  EU  taxonomy  as  it  prepares  the  Horizon  Europe  work 
programmes.       

18 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX I SPEAKERS & MODERATORS 

OPENING SPEECH and CLOSING REMARKS 

Dr  Peter  DRÖLL,  Director  for  Prosperity,  Directorate-General  Research  and 
Innovation (DG R&I), European Commission 

Peter  has  been  working  in  the  European  Commission  for  more  than  20  years  with 
positions  in  environment,  enlargement  negotiations,  industry  policy,  innovation  and 
research.  He  was  a  Cabinet  member  of  Enlargement  Commissioner  Günter  Verheugen 
and Head of Cabinet of the Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik. 

Since 2010 he is at Directorate-General R&I where he was first responsible for Innovation 
then  for  Industrial  Technologies.  Following  the  re-orientation  of  DG  R&I  towards 
sustainability, his competences have been enlarged to include industrial R&I agendas and 
business intelligence as well as knowledge valorisation policies.  

Before joining the European Commission in 1991, Peter worked as a lawyer in a German 
law firm. Peter is a lawyer by training with a doctorate  degree in German constitutional 
law and European law.  

Patrick CHILD, Deputy Director-General, DG R&I, European Commission  

Patrick  Child  leads  the  policy  for  implementation,  impact  &  sustainable  investment 
strategies and is acting Director for the Clean Planet. This Directorate provides support to 
EU  energy,  transport,  environmental,  health,  climate  and  industrial  policies,  promoting 
clean,  reliable  and  secure  energy  production  and  use,  safe  and  cleaner  transport  and 
urban  systems  as  well  as  cleaner  industry.  As  a  member  of  the  Board  of  DG  R&I,  he 
follows in particular R&I into climate action and clean energy and mobility technologies, 
and  is  the  Commission  representative  of  Mission  Innovation  (a  coalition  of  23  countries 
and the European Union, committed to doubling research in clean energy by 2020) and in 
the International Group of Earth Observations (GEO). 

Until  April  2016,  Patrick  Child  was  Managing  Director  of  the  European  External  Service 
with  responsibility  for  administration  and  finance,  covering  human  resources  policy, 
security  and  the  budget.    Before  he  took  up  this  post  in  2011,  he  was  director  in  the 
External  Relations  Directorate  General  in  the  European  Commission  responsible  for  the 
management  of  the  network  of  Commission  delegations.    He  has  previously  served  as 
head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and before 
that Chris Patten from 1999-2004.   

With  a  background  in  the  UK  Finance  Ministry,  he  joined  the  European  Commission  in 
1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before 
becoming  Commission  press  spokesman  for  economic  and  monetary  union  from  1995-
1999.  Mr Child studied mathematics at Cambridge University.   

19 

 
 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION to the sustainable finance policy and the EU taxonomy 

Martin  SPOLC,  Head  of  Unit  Sustainable  Finance,  DG  FISMA,  European 
Commission 

Martin  Spolc  is  the  Head  of  the  Sustainable  Finance  unit  in  the  European  Commission's 
Directorate  General  for  Financial  Services.  Prior  to  his  current  role,  he  was  the  Head  of 
the Capital Markets Union unit, the Economic analysis unit, Deputy Head of the Banking 
unit  and  Assistant  to  the  Director  General,  directly  involved  in  developing  the  Banking 
Union and other key projects in the area of financial services aiming at restoring financial 
stability  since  the  crisis.  Before  joining  the  Commission,  he  had  worked  at  risk 
management  consultancy  and  the  banking  sector.  He  is  the  holder  of  the  CFA  and  FRM 
designations  and  member  of  the  CFA  Institute  and  Global  Association  of  Risk 
Professionals.  

SESSION 1: The EU taxonomy and the low-carbon industries 

Doris  SCHRÖCKER,  Head  of  Unit  Industrial  Research,  Innovation  and 
Investments Agendas, DG R&I  

Doris Schröcker is heading the Unit for Industrial Research, Innovation and Investments 
Agendas  in  Directorate  General  R&I  in  the  European  Commission.  Her  background  is 
business administration with marketing and industrial management, and she has worked 
in  different  positions  in  EU  R&I  policy  and  programme  management  in  the  European 
Commission (mobility/transport and energy, industrial and key enabling technologies). 

Roman DOUBRAVA, Deputy Head of Unit Finance for Low Carbon Innovation, DG 
CLIMA 

Roman Doubrava graduated from the University of Economics in Bratislava and followed 
his  studies  on  Economics  and  politics  of  renewable  energy  at  Technical  University  of 
Salzburg.  He  worked  for  previous  decade  as  a  consultant  and  director  of  the  Energy 
Centre Bratislava, active in the field of sustainable energy and managed number of local 
energy projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Western Balkans. He was also actively 
involved  both  in  Slovak  and  EU  energy  policy  as  member  of  advisory  committees.  In 
2008 he joined the European Commission, where he worked at DG Energy in the fields of 
energy  efficiency  policy  and  finance,  and  as  of  September  2016  he  became  a  Deputy 
Head of Unit in DG CLIMA responsible for low-carbon finance for innovation. 

Pierre BARTHÉLEMY, Executive Director Research and Innovation, CEFIC 

Pierre  Barthélemy  obtained  his  PhD  in  Chemistry  from  the  University  of  Liège,  Belgium, 
and joined the global chemical company Solvay in 1988.  Since June 2014, he has been 
seconded  to  Cefic  (European  Chemical  Industry  Council)  where  he  is  the  Executive 
Director Innovation. He is a member of the Cefic leadership team, and represents Cefic in 
the board of SusChem (www.suschem.org) and A.SPIRE (www.spire2030.eu) 

Koen COPPENHOLLE, Chief Executive, CEMBUREAU 

Koen  Coppenholle  has  been  Chief  Executive  of  CEMBUREAU,  the  European  Cement 
Association since 2012. Before joining CEMBUREAU, Koen  was Head of European Affairs 
for  ArcelorMittal  in  Brussels.  He  was  Senior  Counsel  European  Affairs  with  General 

20 

 
 
Electric  EMEA  (2000-2007)  in  Brussels.  Koen  was  Senior  Associate  with  the  law  firm 
Linklaters De Bandt in Brussels (1995-2000), worked as a “référendaire” in the cabinet of 
the  Dutch  Judge  P.J.G.  Kapteyn  at  the  European  Court  of  Justice  (1992-1995)  and  was 
teaching European law at the University of Leuven before that period.  

SESSION 2: The EU taxonomy and the European Partnerships 

Jürgen TIEDJE, Head of Unit Industrial Transformation, DG R&I  

Jürgen  Tiedje,  working  with  the  European  Commission  since  1992;  German  nationality; 
lawyer as educational background,  wide experience in different Commission departments 
of European policy making, including industry, services and financial services, in the last 
years.  

Jürgen joined DG R&I in the Commission in January 2017. He works as a Head of Unit for 
Industrial  Transformation.  The  unit  focuses  on  managing  and  funding  around  260 
research projects under Horizon 2020 with a particular focus on advanced manufacturing 
processes,  including  biotechnology.  The  unit  actively  contributes  on  how  to  implement 
Horizon Europe. 

Angels ORDUÑA, Executive Director, P4Planet / A.SPIRE 

Àngels Orduña is a seasoned EU and international collaboration leader with proven track 
record  championing  success  in  technology  and  business  development  through  multi-
partner, multi-country and multidisciplinary collaboration. With an academic background 
in International Relations, she has managed and led a number of RDI projects in the EU 
and  Canada  in  technology  areas  related  to  value  chain  productions  and  enabling 
technologies  such  as  ICT,  energy,  renewables,  environment,  advanced  materials  or 
manufacturing. She now runs the SPIRE Association (A.SPIRE), representing the private 
side  in  the  SPIRE  Public  Private  Partnership  (Sustainable  Process  Industry  through 
Resource  and  Energy  Efficiency),  and  the  initiative  of  Processes4Europe,  candidate 
Partnership for Horizon Europe. 

Karin AUSSERSDORFER, Voestalpine AG / Steel Advisory Group 

Born and educated in Linz, Austria, Karin Ausserdorfer graduated from the University of 
Economics  and  Business  Administration  in  Vienna  in  1990  and  at  the  Federal  European 
Academy in Vienna (post-graduated studies) followed by an internship with the European 
Commission (DG Transport) in 1995. 

After consultancies in the field of RTD and Innovation for several Austrian industrial and 
scientific  organisations,  Karin  Ausserdorfer  started  to  work  as  RTD  funding  manager 
within  Voestalpine  in  2005,  an  Austrian  based  international  steel  and  technology  group 
highly  involved  in  the  Research  Fund  for  Coal  and  Steel  (RFCS)  and  H2020  projects 
(SPIRE,  Hydrogen  Europe  -  H2FUTURE  –  the  EU  flagship  project  on  green  hydrogen, 
located at the Voestalpine Linz site).  

In  2008,  Karin  Ausserdorfer  became  member  of  the  RFCS  Steel  Advisory  Group  as  well 
as active on the European Steel Technology Platform - ESTEP.  

21 

 
 
 
 
Nicolas BRAHY, Managing Director, Hydrogen Europe  

Nicolas Brahy is Managing Director at Hydrogen Europe. Nicolas holds a PhD in law and 
has  15  years  of  experience  in  R&D  and  innovation  issues  of  which  11  years  in  the 
hydrogen  sector  gained  in  Hydrogen  Europe  and  before  in  the  Fuel  Cells  and  Hydrogen 
Joint  Undertaking.  Previously  he  worked  for  the  European  Commission  and  lectured  at 
the University of Louvain in Legal and economic aspects of regulation and Public finances. 

SESSION 3: Sustainable finance and the investment opportunities   

Gwennaël  JOLIFF-BOTREL,  Head  of  the  R&I  Investment  Agendas,  DG  R&I, 
European Commission  

Increasing the investment in R&I to accelerate the transition towards an environmentally, 
socially  and  economically  sustainable  Europe  is  a  priority.  Her  unit  is  targeting  the 
increase  of  EU  business  R&D  intensity  that  is  significantly  lower  in  comparison  to  other 
main economies. In this context her unit analyses the successful models where blending 
of public and private investments into the different European funding programmes make 
a  difference  in  delivering  new  innovative  technologies  and  solutions  to  the  market. 
Building on this, this unit contributes to the development of R&I investment agendas in 
the key EU priorities.   

Peter ANDERSON, Senior Climate Change Specialist, European Investment Bank  

Peter is a Senior Climate Change Specialist in the EIB’s Environment, Climate and Social 
Office. His responsibilities include management of the Bank’s climate finance tracking and 
greenhouse  gas  reporting,  and  he  leads  on  climate  mitigation.  He  is  chair  of  the  Joint 
Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Climate Mitigation Finance Working Group and was 
a  member  of  the  EU’s  Technical  Expert  Group  (TEG)  on  Sustainable  Finance.  Prior  to 
joining the EIB, Peter worked in auditing and consultancy. He holds a Master’s degree in 
Environmental Management from the University of East Anglia. 

Helena VIÑES FIESTAS, Deputy Global Head of Sustainability, BNP Paribas Asset 
Management  (AM)  /  Member  of  the  Technical  Experts  Group  on  Sustainable 
Finance and the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance 

Helena  leads on  BNPP  AM’s  policy  and stewardship  activities  on  Sustainability,  including 
engagement with policymakers. As Deputy Global Head of Sustainability, Helena plays a 
critical  role  in  the  design,  development  and  implementation  of  BNPP  AM’s  Global 
Sustainability Strategy. She acts as a public policy adviser on sustainable finance to BNP 
Paribas Group.  She is nominated  a  as  a Rapporteur  (working  group)  in  the EU Platform 
on  Sustainable  Finance  and  had  been  a  member  of  the  Technical  Expert  Group  on 
Sustainable Finance. She represents BNPP AM in a number of committees such as in the 
EFAMA  committee  on  Stewardship  and  ESG,  as  a  board  member  in  the  Institutional 
Investors  Group  on  Climate  Change  (IIGCC)  as  well  as  in  the  Sustainable  Stock 
Exchanges Green Finance Advisory Group, PRI Policy Reference Group and the Technical 
Advisory  Group  of  the  LSE-led  Transition  Pathway  Initiative.    She  has  eighteen  years’ 
work experience in responsible business and sustainable investment.  Helena joined the 
firm in 2011 and led the Sustainability Research team until 2019.  

Previously,  Helena  led  Oxfam's  advocacy  work  on  responsible  investment  and 
engagement  with  institutional  investors  in  support  of  poverty  reduction.    She  is  the 
author of numerous papers and articles, including a book. She holds a BA in Economics, a 
postgraduate in Latin American Economics from the University of Barcelona and a MSc in 
Development Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

22 

 
 
Martin  BRUNCKO,  Managing  Partner  and  Founder,  Steam  Venture  Capital  / 
Member of the Investment Committee of the European Innovation Council Fund  

Martin  Bruncko  is  a  technology  entrepreneur,  executive,  investor,  and  former  senior 
public  policy  leader  with  an  extensive  expertise  in  building  transformational  deep  tech 
companies, as well as from top echelons of national and international policymaking in the 
areas of finance and innovations. He has held executive, board and advisory positions in 
several  highly  innovative,  R&D-based  companies,  including  AeroMobil,  a  pioneering 
player in the advanced personal aerial vehicle space (“flying cars”). He was the founder 
and executive chairman of Neulogy, the first major advisory and investment boutique in 
Central and Eastern Europe focused on R&D, innovations and deep tech start-ups.  

Previously, Martin held several senior positions in the Government of Slovakia, including 
junior minister for innovations and deputy for European affairs of the minister of finance. 
He was also a Board Member of the European Stability Mechanism (previously EFSF) and 
Senior Director and Head of Europe at the World Economic Forum. Martin has remained 
involved  in  public  policy,  including  as  an  official  advisor  to  the  European  Commissioner 
for  R&I  and  to  the  Government  of  Dubai.  He  is  the  founder  of  Druid  Collective,  a  non-
profit  initiative  of  the  World  Economic  Forum’s  Young  Global  Leaders  and  Technology 
focused  on  helping  exceptional  start-ups  around  the  world  to  bring 
Pioneers 
breakthrough science from lab to impact.  

Martin  holds  a  B.A.  from  Stanford  University  and  M.P.A.  from  Harvard  Kennedy  School. 
In 2012, he was honored as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX II CONCEPT NOTE AND AGENDA 

EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: 

an opportunity for sustainable industrial R&I 

Workshop on 12th November 2020 

1.- Context/Background  

With  a  view  to  the  European  Green  Deal  Communication10,  European  Green  Deal 
Investment  Plan11  and  the  upcoming  renewed  sustainable  finance  strategy  with  is 
legislative package, DG Research and Innovation (DG R&I) is organising a workshop. The 
speakers and participants will discuss the future challenges linking the EU taxonomy and 
the  sustainable  finance  framework  to  technology  and  industrial  investments  in  order  to 
facilitate the transition towards sustainability. The aim will be to engage the stakeholders 
and identify key aspects on how to place sustainable finance and the EU taxonomy in the 
context  of  industrial  R&I  and  the  activities  of  the  European  Partnerships  and  to  help 
advance the R&I agenda of European industries towards the Green Deal’s objectives. 

The  sustainable  finance  policy  and  its  taxonomy  is  integral  part  of  the  European  Green 
Deal. It will create an enabling framework for private  investors and the public  sector to 
facilitate  sustainable  investments,  in  particular  making  it  easier  for  investors  and 
companies  to  identify  sustainable  economic  activities  to  invest  in.  The  Green  Deal 
priorities require higher corporate responsibility towards the environment, but are also a 
growth  strategy  with  industrial  R&D  investments  and  market  opportunities  for  new 
innovative  and  low-carbon  technological  solutions.   Innovation  is  key  for  the  climate 
transition  success  of  industry  towards  the  objectives  of  the  Paris  Agreement  and  the 
United  Nation’s  Sustainable  Agenda.  In  this  regard,  the  sustainable  finance  framework 
and  the  EU  taxonomy  will  play  a  major  role  to  support  industrial  innovation  under  the 
Green  Deal  by  leveraging  private  finance  for  green  industrial  R&I  and  contribute  in 
bridging the investment gap towards reaching EU climate and energy goals. 

In  the  context  of  R&I  industrial  and  investment  strategies  beyond  the  phase  addressed 
through  EU  funded  projects,  the  sustainable  finance  framework  is  expected  to  facilitate 
financing  of  subsequent  and 
for 
industrialisation and deployment.  The EU taxonomy will create an opportunity to attract 
private green finance to activities meeting the targets of the Green Deal, linked with later 
stages  of  technological  development,  demonstration  and  take-up.  Investors  should  get 
closer  insights  into upcoming  Horizon  Europe’s  projects  and  give  insights  what they  are 
willing to take up.   

large-scale  demonstrators  and 

investments 

10  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Council, 
The Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 
The European Green Deal, COM/2019/640 

11  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Council, 
The Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: 
Sustainable Europe Investment Plan    European Green Deal Investment Plan, COM(2020) 21. 

24 

 
 
 
 
                                               
2.- Target audience 

Industrial  stakeholders  and  potential  taxonomy  users  from  the  European  Partnerships, 
policymakers from the Commission and experts from industry and the financial sector. 

3.- Policy objectives 

  Discuss  how  to  anticipate  sustainable  finance  at  the  R&I  stage  and  make  the 
future R&I activities of European Partnerships sustainable and bankable: turning 
the challenges of EU taxonomy alignment into opportunities. Provide insights into 
the  drivers,  incentives  and  barriers  to  private  R&I  investment,  addressing  the 
Green Deal’s objectives.   

  Set  out  the  role  of  European  Partnerships  under  Horizon  Europe  and  of 
partnership  members  in  terms  of  private  investment.  Describe  the  steps  that 
industrial  stakeholders  in  the  partnerships  need  to  take  to  apply  the  EU 
taxonomy. Discuss how they can attract investors at an early stage.   

  Give  feedback  to  the  Commission  on  how  to  integrate  the  EU  taxonomy  into 
public funding of R&I and how to encourage projects and their consortia to make 
best use of the EU taxonomy in funding scale-ups and deployment. 

  Set  out  the  role  of  the  financial  sector  in  speeding  up  the  successful  uptake  of 
project  results  in  line  with  sustainable  finance.  Answer  questions  like  what 
information investors need to place their investments and to take R&I results to 
the market. 

4.- Expected outputs 

The expected outputs from this workshop are the following:  

  Mapping  of  the  specific  needs  of  the  R&I  industrial  community  to  use  the  EU 

taxonomy and possible next steps 

  A view on synergies between the EU taxonomy and  R&I  projects funded under 
Horizon Europe (and Horizon 2020) and possible actions to prepare R&I actions 
for further industrial investments using sustainable finance 

  A  view  on  the  interests  and  needs  of  investors  in  preparing  their  sustainable 
finance investments and products, including in areas covered by the Partnerships 

  Support  R&I  in  a  new  field  that  links  financing  of  sustainability  with  private 
finance  solutions.  There  are  already  different  public  and  private  investment 
instruments  entering  the  market,  but  the  stakeholders  are  facing  obstacles, 
which prevent leveraging the impact that sustainable finance can deliver. 

5.- Format 

A  half-day  event  with  3  panel  sessions,  organised  by  DG  R&I  in  cooperation  with  DG 
FISMA and European Partnership stakeholders 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
6.- Workshop agenda 

DRAFT AGENDA 

09:45 – 10:00 

Opening speech: Objectives of the workshop and the policy 
context 

•   Peter DRÖLL, Director of ‘Prosperity’ Directorate, DG R&I 

10:00 – 10:15 

Introduction to the sustainable finance policy and the EU 
taxonomy 

•   Martin SPOLC, Head of Unit Sustainable Finance, DG FISMA 

Session 1: The EU taxonomy and the low-carbon 
industries 

Panel discussion  

Moderator: Doris SCHRÖCKER, Head of Unit  Industrial 
Research, Innovation and Investments Agendas, DG R&I 

•   Roman DOUBRAVA 
    Deputy Head of Unit Finance for Low Carbon Innovation,  DG 

CLIMA 

•   Pierre BARTHÉLEMY  
    Executive Director Research and innovation, CEFIC 

•   Koen COPPENHOLLE 
    Chief Executive, CEMBUREAU 

10:15 – 10:50 

10:50 – 11.10  Q&A 

Coffee break (20 min) 

Session 2: The EU taxonomy and the European 
Partnerships 

Panel discussion  

Moderator: 
Transformation, DG R&I 

Jürgen  TIEDJE,  Head  of  Unit 

Industrial 

•   Angels ORDUÑA 
    Executive Director, P4Planet / A.SPIRE 

•   Karin AUSSERSDORFER                                                                                     

R&D funding management, Voestalpine AG / Steel Advisory 
Group 

•   Nicolas BRAHY 
    Managing Director, Hydrogen Europe 

11.30 – 12.00 

12.00 – 12.20  Q&A 

Lunch break (50 min) 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DRAFT AGENDA 

Session 3: Sustainable finance and the investment 
opportunities 

Panel discussion 

Moderator: Gwennaël JOLIFF-BOTREL, Head of Unit Investment 
R&I Agendas, DG R&I 

•   Helena VIÑES FIESTAS 

13.10 – 13.50 

Deputy Global Head of Sustainability, BNP Paribas Asset 
Management / Member of the Technical Experts Group on 
Sustainable Finance  

•   Peter ANDERSON 
    Senior Climate Change Specialist, European Investment Bank  

•   Martin BRUNCKO  

Founder and Managing Partner, Steam Venture Capital / 
Member of the Investment Committee of the EIC Fund 

13.50 – 14.10  Q&A 

14.10 – 14.20 

Closing remarks 
•   Patrick CHILD, Deputy Director-General, DG R&I 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX III PRESENTATION 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
29 

 
 
 
 
30 

 
 
 
 
 
31 

 
 
 
32 

 
 
Getting in touch with the EU

IN PERSON
All over the European Union there are hundreds of Europe Direct information centres.  
You can find the address of the centre nearest you at:  
https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en

ON THE PHONE OR BY EMAIL
Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union.  
You can contact this service: 

– by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain operators may charge for these calls), 
– at the following standard number: +32 22999696, or 
– by email via: https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en

Finding information about the EU

ONLINE
Information about the European Union in all the official languages of the EU is available on the Europa  
website at: https://europa.eu/european-union/index_en

EU PUBLICATIONS
You can download or order free and priced EU publications from:  
https://op.europa.eu/en/publications. Multiple copies of free publications may be obtained by contacting 
Europe Direct or your local information centre (see https://europa.eu/european-union/contact_en)

EU LAW AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
For access to legal information from the EU, including all EU law since 1952 in all the official language 
versions, go to EUR-Lex at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu

OPEN DATA FROM THE EU
The EU Open Data Portal (http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en) provides access to datasets from the EU. Data 
can be downloaded and reused for free, for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.

This  report  summarises  the  presentations  and  discussions  in  the  policy 
workshop “EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: an opportunity for sustainable 
industrial R&I” organised by DG R&I on 12 November 2020.

In the workshop, industrial stakeholders and potential EU taxonomy users 
from  the  European  Partnerships,  policymakers  from  the  Commission 
and  experts  from  industry  and  the  financial  sector  discussed  the  future 
challenges  in  linking  the  EU  taxonomy  and  the  sustainable  finance 
framework to research, technology and industrial investments in order to 
facilitate  the  transition  towards  sustainability.  The  main  objective  of  the 
workshop was to identify key aspects for placing sustainable finance and EU 
taxonomy in the context of industrial R&I and the activities of the European 
Partnerships and to help advance the R&I agenda of European industries 
towards the Green Deal’s objectives.

Studies and reports