Scaling clean energy solutions through cross-sector partnership models

Hard-to-abate sectors—such as road freight transport, shipping, aviation, iron and steel, and petrochemicals—remain some of the toughest challenges in the race to net zero. Together, they account for roughly one-quarter of global energy consumption and around one-fifth of CO₂ emissions. Tackling their decarbonisation is not just a matter of technology, but of collaboration, scale, and rethinking traditional models of industry.

At a recent discussion on accelerating industrial transformation, leaders from across the energy and technology spectrum highlighted how partnerships, innovation, and new approaches to financing are shaping the path forward.

Carlo Luzzatto, CEO and General Manager of RINA, underlined the urgency of building alliances early in the process. For him, the speed of industrial decarbonisation hinges on collaboration that starts before projects are even launched.

“We need to build something that has the power to reduce the time of producing. How do we do that? We believe that partnerships are more impactful when they start happening during development, involving all the players in the value chain. This impacts more in the future than working on a single project,” Luzzatto said.

From her perspective, Elena Scaltritti, EVP & CCO of Topsoe, stressed the dual importance of ambition and clarity. A shared vision of decarbonisation must be matched with concrete, measurable goals to truly drive results.

“It’s important to have a very aspirational common goal - such as decarbonisation - combined with specific clear goals in order to reach success. And it’s crucial to consider the human aspect of the collaboration,” she explained. Scaltritti pointed to Zaffra—a joint venture between Sasol and Topsoe—as a case in point.

The initiative is dedicated to advancing sustainable aviation fuel production and related technologies, providing a tangible example of how structured partnerships can deliver both innovation and impact.

Maurits van Tol, Chief Executive of Catalyst Technologies at Johnson Matthey, turned the spotlight onto the role of technology in scaling up solutions. For him, replication and feedstock flexibility are key to creating a global network of decarbonisation infrastructure.

“It’s about building large plants, replicated globally. And feedstock flexibility of these large design assets is important. You can put them at scale in many different places all around the world, and you start to build a global infrastructure that is sizable and brings the cost down,” van Tol noted.

The process of introducing new technologies to market rarely happens all at once. Torsten Katz, Global Business Director at OASE Gas Treatment Excellence, described the journey as a phased evolution—starting with proof of concept and culminating in full-scale adoption.

“The first phase is usually you must prove that the technology works. The second phase is to gradually introduce green chemistry to the market. In the last step, we are really implementing all the processes we may have developed with partners,” Katz said.

Finally, Siddarth Malik, Managing Partner of Green Investors, emphasized that financing models must evolve alongside technology and partnerships. Transparency and collaboration across the value chain are essential, but so too is innovation in how projects are funded.

“Partnerships have always been prevalent in the success of any energy projects. There's only one difference: the impact of what we're doing, be it hydrogen or low-carbon fuels, is very non-linear,” Malik said. He concluded: “The conventional frameworks and structures cannot be best fit. We need to step back, take the community together and get new innovative financing structures in place.”

Together, their perspectives highlight a common thread: decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors will require not only new technologies, but also new ways of working together—where ambition, scale, and creativity converge.