The EU’s new Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) is a strong political signal in favour of “Made in Europe” clean technologies, and it reinforces the relevance of MAXIMA’s work on next-generation electric motor solutions for the automotive sector.
What the IAA proposes
The European Commission’s Industrial Accelerator Act is a legislative proposal to strengthen Europe’s industrial base by boosting manufacturing, growing businesses, and creating high-quality jobs in the EU. It sets an indicative goal to raise manufacturing from roughly 14–14.3% of EU GDP today to about 20% by 2035, positioning industry as a cornerstone of Europe’s economic resilience and social fabric.
A core feature of the Act is to create stronger demand for low‑carbon and European‑made industrial products through public procurement and support schemes, particularly in strategic sectors such as steel, cement, aluminium, automotive and net‑zero technologies. The proposal also includes streamlined, more digital permitting for industrial projects, aiming to speed up clean‑tech investments and reduce administrative barriers across Member States.
Focus on clean tech and e‑mobility
On the clean‑technology side, the IAA supports the emergence of lead markets for European solutions in areas such as renewable energy, batteries, and electric vehicles. The legislation is closely linked to the EU’s broader Clean Industrial Deal agenda, which emphasises decarbonisation of energy‑intensive industries and resilience in critical supply chains.
For the automotive sector, the Commission explicitly links the Act to “Made in EU” provisions for electric vehicles and their components, with the intention of ensuring that public funding backs vehicles and technologies that generate real value, jobs and know‑how within the Union. In practical terms, this translates into local‑content and low‑carbon criteria that will become increasingly important for EV architectures, batteries, and key drivetrain components.
Why this matters for MAXIMA
MAXIMA is developing a low‑cost, modular permanent‑magnet axial‑flux electrical machine with improved performance and low environmental impact, specifically tailored to the needs of the automotive market. The project focuses on a complete design and production methodology that balances efficiency, cost reduction, high power/torque density, and high recyclability, especially regarding critical raw materials.
These priorities align closely with the IAA’s ambition to boost European clean‑tech manufacturing capacity while reducing strategic dependencies in areas like electric mobility and advanced materials. By combining cutting‑edge electrical machine design, new thermal management concepts, and optimised production systems, MAXIMA contributes to a European value chain for e‑motors that is both competitive and consistent with future “Made in EU” and low‑carbon requirements.
Strengthening European industrial sovereignty
The Industrial Accelerator Act explicitly aims to protect European industry from unfair global competition and excessive reliance on non‑EU suppliers in strategic sectors. For major investments in areas such as automotive and batteries, the proposal links access to the Single Market and public support to conditions like high‑quality job creation, technology transfer, and minimum levels of European employment and content.
MAXIMA directly supports this search for industrial sovereignty by advancing European‑based know‑how on electrical machines that require fewer critical materials and enable more circular, resource‑efficient production models. The project’s consortium, spanning research organisations and industry, illustrates how collaborative European R&I can underpin a robust supply chain for EV drivetrains that is less exposed to external shocks and more aligned with EU strategic interests.
From research to industrial deployment
The IAA is not only about targets; it also seeks to accelerate the path from innovation to large‑scale deployment through simplified permitting and clearer investment signals for clean‑tech manufacturing projects. This creates a more favourable framework for Horizon Europe initiatives like MAXIMA to translate technical advances into industrial solutions that can be scaled within the EU.
As MAXIMA progresses towards its final phase, the project’s results on design methodologies, digital twins for optimal motor control, and manufacturing and recycling processes can help European companies respond to upcoming “Made in EU” and low‑carbon criteria in e‑mobility. In this sense, MAXIMA is not only a research endeavour, it is a tangible enabler of the transition that the Industrial Accelerator Act seeks to accelerate: a competitive, climate‑neutral, and strategically autonomous European industry.