The objective of this publication, the Technical Report on Innovative Techniques (TRIT) of 2026 by the INCITE, is to serve as a strategic technological compass for Europe’s industrial transition. The report maps a comprehensive dataset of 563 demonstrator projects across Europe identified be-tween 2020 and 2025. The content focuses on energy-intensive industries (EIIs) and prioritises sectors with the highest environmental impact and strategic relevance for the Clean Industrial Deal. It was found that innovation in industry is highly concentrated in three ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors: Iron & Steel, Chemicals, and Cement, Lime, and Magnesia. Together, these sectors account for approximately 65% of all identified demonstrators. The report focuses on techniques that have reached a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 6–7 or higher. Currently, TRL 7 (33%) and TRL 9 (28%) represent the largest shares of the dataset, indicating a strong pipeline of solutions demonstrated in operational environments or ready for market. While decarbonisation is the dominant driver (present in 71% of projects), industrial pilots are increasingly engineered for synergistic benefits. These include depollution (42%) and circularity (30%), such as waste-to-feedstock conversion and the valorisation of industrial by-products. Several barriers to imple-mentation were identified, and were associated to challenges in permitting, infrastructure availa-bility, and financing risks with first-of-a-kind installations. The current dataset is strongly influenced by EU-funded projects (> 70% of the projects) due to robust reporting obligations. Private and national sector investments remain less visible and fragmented. Overall, the findings of this report serve as a foundation for future Best Available Techniques (BAT). By identifying mature, high-performance technologies now, INCITE ensures that upcoming EU norms accelerate the deployment of cleaner technologies.

ARIES Eric;  FERERES Sonia;  BELLOMO Nicolas;  GONZALEZ CUENCA Jose;  FERREIRA DE ALMEIDA Vanessa;  TEJEDOR SANZ Sara;  CHRONOPOULOS Georgios;  RETSOULIS Ioannis;  ROUDIER Serge;  LAMBERT Caroline; 

2026-06-01

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC146559

978-92-68-39966-8 (online),    978-92-68-40210-8 (print),   

1831-9424 (online),    1018-5593 (print),   

EUR 40736,    OP KJ-01-26-235-EN-N (online),    OP KJ-01-26-235-EN-C (print),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC146559,   

10.2760/4237125 (online),    10.2760/6566420 (print),