Q-Zero Alliance: Scaling markets for clean industrial heat in line with the EU Industrial Accelerator Act

Group photo of approximately 70 conference attendees standing on a stage in a large wood-panelled auditorium beneath a projection screen displaying a Spanish-language presentation slide.

Decarbonising industrial thermal energy is one of Europe’s most critical economic and climate challenges. In Spain and the EU, where thermal processes account for about two-thirds of manufacturing energy consumption, heat decarbonisation projects often face[1].

To aid market-building to this end, Q-Zero Alliance is a multi-stakeholder alliance in Spain established to accelerate the decarbonisation of industrial thermal energy demand.[2] Promoted by the Technical University of Madrid (UPM)[3], Tecnalia and Iberdrola, the initiative aligns well with the Industrial Accelerator Act’s (IAA) goal of bridging supply and demand to secure European industrial competitiveness. 

The key challenge: decarbonising industrial heat

Globally, heat consumption represented 73.8 per cent of industrial final energy use, of which a stable yet fossil-dominated mix corresponds to 87.6 per cent and only 12.4 per cent comes from renewable energy.[4] This trend is mirrored in the EU, which shows the limited penetration of clean technologies within key industries. Similarly, while Spain has rapidly decarbonised its electricity grid, thermal energy use in industry remains a stubborn hurdle in the net-zero transition.[5]

Industrial heat projects are frequently derailed by a combination of technical complexity, high upfront capital expenditure, misalignment in energy taxation between electricity and fossil fuels, regulatory bottlenecks and infrastructure deficits.[6] Without decarbonisation pathways that are technically sound, as well as economically feasible and cost competitive, companies in sectors like food and beverages, chemicals, metallurgy and ceramics face an existential threat: higher energy costs, reduced global competitiveness and heightened exposure to future carbon pricing.

The solution: a demand-centric alliance

Launched in early 2024 and now comprising over 170 members across the value chain, Q-Cero flips the traditional technology-push model by putting industrial energy consumers at the centre. Rather than solely pushing supply-side technologies, the alliance actively maps the operational barriers faced by demand-side actors and works collaboratively to propose practical interventions.

The aim with grouping this demand through stakeholder dialogue and collaborative initiatives is to co-ordinate industrial value chains, build resilience and drive the scaling up of clean supply. By uniting technology providers, R&D centres and financial institutions, Q-Cero enables companies to pool knowledge, standardise technical requirements and present unified, evidence-based feedback to policymakers. 

The business case: a fully encompassing value-chain approach 

The core business rationale for Q-Cero rests on the reality that industrial decarbonisation is not just a climate priority, but a fundamental energy security and competitiveness strategy. By moving collectively, companies can mitigate systemic risks that no single entity can solve alone. However, systemic barriers continue to hinder rapid deployment. Through its working groups, Q-Cero has identified three key barriers. Knowledge barriers – specifically incomplete visibility over total life cycle costs and fragmented regulatory requirements – slow down technology adoption. Economically, deployment is constrained by high upfront capital expenses misalignment in energy taxation between electricity and fossil fuels and rigid and slow-moving subsidy schemes that discourage corporate risk-taking. These financial pressures are compounded by execution bottlenecks, particularly protracted permitting processes and delays in securing heavy electrical grid connections. 

Because no individual enterprise can resolve these systemic challenges alone, Q-Zero aggregates demand and its requirements to overcome aforementioned barriers, turning isolated corporate efforts into co-ordinated strategies.

A replicable model for collaboration

Q-Zero’s method of coalition-building offers a replicable model across diverse geographies and energy-intensive sectors. Having established its industrial foundation, the initiative is expanding into commercial and residential buildings, allowing thermal demand to be addressed comprehensively across the broader economy. 

Policy recommendations

The following are the key policy learnings across CLG Europe’s key priority areas based on Q-Zero Alliance’s case:

  • Generate strong, reliable market demand across value chains: Introduce low carbon energy use thresholds in national and regional public procurement contracts for construction materials (such as cement and steel), guaranteeing a robust buyer market for industry members transitioning to clean heat. 
  • Enable competitive, scalable supply: Deploy targeted and effective Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfDs) designed for high-temperature industrial electrification technologies (e.g., advanced heat pumps, electric smelters, electric arc furnaces) to offset the operating cost differential between natural gas and industrial electricity.
  • Build an enabling environment for clean lead markets: Designate high-density heavy-industry clusters as statutory ‘low carbon energy use acceleration zones’. This could also link with existing demarcated renewable acceleration areas (RAAs). These could be facilitated by grid operators pre-approving connection capacity upgrades and fast-track environmental permitting for installations within these zones attempting to electrify heat. Also rationalise electricity pricing and re-evaluate carbon taxation to ensure industrial electricity is competitive vis-à-vis gas.

Key policy takeaway

Lead markets for low carbon industrial solutions cannot be built through supply-side technology push alone. Policymakers must actively aggregate and derisk industrial demand through structured alliances (whether public, private or public–private) that resolve shared systemic barriers – specifically co-ordinated grid upgrades, operational cost parity and agile permitting – before expecting private capital to scale.


 

 

[1] “Final energy consumption in industry – detailed statistics,” Eurostat, updated May 2027, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Final_energy_consumption_in_industry_-_detailed_statistics; “Decarbonisation in Spain,” Iberdrola España, accessed September 29, 2026, https://www.iberdrolaespana.com/sustainability/decarbonisation-in-spain; DNV, Spain’s path to decarbonization (DNV, 2025), https://www.dnv.com/publications/spains-path-to-decarbonization/.

[2] “What is the Q-Zero Alliance?” Q-Zero Alliance, accessed September 29, 2026, https://alianzaqcero.es/que-es/.

[3] itdUPM (Innovation and Technology for Developmente Centro at the Technical University of Madrid), accessed 8 October 2026, https://itd.upm.es/en/home/

[4] 2023 figures from: Hind Couzin and Jonathan Lyons, Renewables 2025 Global Status Report (REN21 Secretariat, 2025), https://www.ren21.net/gsr-2025/downloads/pdf/demand/GSR_2025_Factsheet_Demand_Industry.pdf.

[5] J.A. Romero-Ramos et al., “Geospatial identification of thermal energy clusters for the development of local solar hydrogen networks in the manufacturing industry: A case study in southeastern Spain. Toward EU-ready local hydrogen networks,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 218 (2026); 154012, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.154012; Alberto Toril Castro, “Thermal Energy Storage for Industrial Heat Decarbonization: Turning Renewable Variability into an Industrial Advantage,” Papeles de Energía 32 (April 2026), https://www.funcas.es/articulos/thermal-energy-storage-for-industrial-heat-decarbonization-turning-renewable-variability-into-an-industrial-advantage/.

[6] Exolum, Observatory of trends in the context of the energy transition (Exolum, 2026), https://exolum.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Observatory-of-trends-in-the-context-of-the-energy-transition-2026.pdf; “The energy transition in Spain is entering a decisive phase shaped by demand, infrastructure and competitiveness,” Exolum, April 10, 2026, https://exolum.com/en/noticia/the-energy-transition-in-spain-is-entering-a-decisive-phase-shaped-by-demand-infrastructure-and-competitiveness/; Juan Cámara-Aceituno et al., “Spain’s decarbonisation to 2030: An integrated LMDI–LEAP assessment,” Results in Engineering 30 (2026): 110314, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2026.110314; Víctor Ruiz Ezpeleta, “The closure of nuclear power plants will increase the cost of living by 23%,” OBS Business School, January 26, 2026, https://www.obsbusiness.school/en/faculty-and-research/reports/obs-report-energy-sector-spain-towards-sustainable-decarbonisation; “The energy sector in Spain in 2025: challenges and opportunities,” Leaders League, November 5, 2025, https://www.leadersleague.com/en/news/the-energy-sector-in-spain-in-2025-challenges-and-opportunities.