Update of the roadmap study ‘Towards a carbon-circular and low-carbon Flemish industry’

How can Flemish basic industry remain both sustainable and competitive? To answer this question, VLAIO commissioned an update of the 2020 roadmap study ‘Towards a carbon-circular and low-carbon Flemish industry’. The result is a thorough and updated analysis that provides direction for the new ‘Klimaatsprong voor de Industrie 2026-2030’ program memorandum.

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In 2020, a context analysis/roadmap study was conducted within Moonshot at the request of Flemish minister for Innovation and Economy Hilde Crevits and VLAIO, the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Goal of this study was to identify the most promising transition paths to achieve the Moonshot ambition: a Flemish industry that is carbon-circular and low in CO2 by 2050. Today an update to the roadmap-study has been published. 

What does the report say?

The new report ‘Update contextanalyse en roadmapstudie: Naar een koolstofcirculaire, CO2-arme en competitieve Vlaamse basisindustrie’ (Deloitte, VUB-IES, June 2025) takes a critical look at the developments that have taken place since the previous roadmap study and context analysis. It zooms in on the current state of affairs, social trends, and risks for the energy and climate transition in the steel, refining, and (petro)chemical sectors. The report provides an update on these aspects:

  • Policy context – maps the changes in European, federal, and Flemish regulations since 2019.
  • Industrial fabric – outlines how emissions, energy consumption, production, employment, investments, and trade have developed.
  • Competitiveness – compares Belgium's position with Europe, the US, and China.
  • Technologies – evaluates progress in important transition paths such as electrification, circular processes, hydrogen, and CCS.
  • New roadmap – outlines an adapted path towards a carbon-circular, low-carbon basic industry by 2050, with an eye for competitiveness.

Policy recommendations for the future

Based on these insights, the report formulates a series of concrete policy recommendations. They form the building blocks for the 2026-2030 program note, with which Flanders wants to steer its industry towards climate neutrality and economic strength.

Read the full report

Source: VLAIO