On 24 February 2026, a breakfast event at the European Parliament was hosted by Dr. Wouter Beke and co-moderated by Dr. Christian Ehler, Members of the European Parliament.
A high-level and highly diverse panel brought together the three EU Institutions, Kurt Vandenberghe (Director General of DG CLIMA), Ambassador Bert Versmessen (Deputy Permanent Representative of Belgium to the EU) and industry representatives with a clear shared conviction: Europe’s climate ambition cannot be achieved without a solid and credible industrial foundation.
Grete Tveit (SVP Low Carbon Solutions Equinor) and Edouard Neviaski (EVP Supply & Energy Management ENGIE) provided concrete examples on how to move from political visions to implementation, stressing the urgency of establishing a framework that enables investment in large-scale, cross border, multistakeholder projects.
At the center of the discussion: H2BE, the joint ENGIE and Equinor project to develop 1000 MW of large-scale, low-carbon hydrogen production at the Rodenhuize site in Ghent (Belgium), using autothermal reforming (ATR) combined with safe carbon capture and permanent storage, targeting above 95% CO₂ capture. The project lies at the heart of a future H₂ and CO₂ ecosystem in Belgium and Europe and demonstrates that European competitiveness and climate ambition can go hand in hand.
The discussion was further enriched by contributions from Xavier Cros (INEOS), Frederik Van de Velde (ArcelorMittal) and Leen Vanhamme (Fluxys), reminding us that the success of the Clean Industrial Deal now depends on its ability to reconcile decarbonization, industrial sovereignty, and European competitiveness.
