The 10th report on the State of the Energy Union confirms that the EU is on track towards its 2030 targets, with greenhouse‑gas emissions falling further and renewables already providing a rapidly growing share of electricity. At the same time, it stresses that reaching at least a 55% emissions reduction and a minimum 42.5% renewable share will only be possible with much faster clean‑tech deployment and stronger energy‑efficiency measures in buildings, heating, cooling and industrial processes.
The report frames Europe’s strategic goal as becoming an “electro‑continent”, relying on domestically produced clean energy to cut fossil fuel imports, improve resilience and keep energy affordable. This implies a steep rise in electricity’s share of final energy use and a massive reduction in wasted energy across industry, especially in heat‑intensive steps such as drying.
Why industrial drying is a hidden lever
More than 60% of the energy used by European industry goes into producing heat, and a large share of that is for low‑ to medium‑temperature applications such as drying, evaporation and pasteurisation. Studies show that roughly a third of Europe’s industrial process‑heat demand sits below 200 °C and is therefore technically suitable for electrification and high‑efficiency solutions like industrial heat pumps and advanced steam systems.
In sectors such as pulp and paper, food and beverages and other web‑like products, conventional drying still relies heavily on combustion‑based systems and hot air, which inherently waste much of the supplied energy and lock in fossil fuel use. Cutting the energy need of these operations is therefore a powerful and often underestimated lever to reduce gas imports, lower costs and accelerate progress towards the Energy Union’s climate and competitiveness objectives.
How SteamDry answers the Energy Union call
SteamDry focuses on advancing superheated steam drying technology for web‑like materials such as paper, board, tissue and nonwovens, using superheated steam instead of hot air as the drying medium. By circulating and reheating steam in a closed loop, SSD enables almost complete recovery of latent heat, significantly reducing net energy consumption while maintaining high product quality and hygiene.
Analyses for the project indicate that, if deployed widely, SSD could unlock energy‑saving potential of around 127 TWh per year in European paper and board production and about 870 TWh globally. These savings directly support the report’s message that every additional percentage point of energy‑efficiency improvement translates into substantial reductions in fossil fuel imports and exposure to volatile gas prices.
Aligned with the Affordable Energy Action Plan and Clean Industrial Deal
The State of the Energy Union underlines the implementation of the Affordable Energy Action Plan, which aims to reduce energy costs, modernise networks and strengthen interconnections while maintaining progress towards climate goals. SteamDry contributes to this agenda by offering industrial sites a technology that can lower energy bills, cut emissions and increase flexibility to use low‑carbon electricity and waste heat more effectively.
The report also highlights the Clean Industrial Deal and the Competitiveness Compass as central tools for keeping European industry competitive during the transition by backing clean‑tech deployment and innovation. As a Horizon Europe project, SteamDry exemplifies how EU‑funded research and innovation can move from lab‑scale concepts to pilot‑scale demonstrations, creating investable solutions for equipment suppliers and manufacturers across the paper value chain.
From policy signals to deployment decisions
For industrial stakeholders, the 10th State of the Energy Union is more than a policy snapshot; it is a strong signal that investments in efficient, electrification‑ready processes will be increasingly rewarded by regulation, funding instruments and market dynamics. Technologies that reduce dependence on imported fuels, lower exposure to carbon prices and stabilise operating costs are uniquely positioned to benefit from upcoming EU instruments and national support schemes.
By demonstrating superheated steam drying at pilot scale and developing concepts for integration into existing and new industrial dryers, SteamDry helps de‑risk a key technology class that can turn the Energy Union’s high‑level objectives into real‑world energy and emissions savings. In doing so, the project contributes not only to EU climate and energy targets, but also to a more resilient, competitive and electrified European process industry.