Creation of non-energy industries

While many regions are seeking to develop new energy industries to provide new opportunities for their existing workforce, others are exploring alternative kinds of industrial activities to diversify regional economies. These are typically transformative strategies, proposed at middle and later transition stages. They may be initially proposed at the theoretical level by think tanks, universities, or NGOs, then taken up by local, regional or national governments, and opened up for investors. Depending on each region’s industrial structure and history, these activities can involve high, medium and low levels of technological development.

We found a wide variety of non-energy-generating activities across our regions: projects focused on the development of a continental fur hub; on hydroponics; on the construction of electric cars or other activities in the automotive sector. We also on less decarbonisation-friendly activities, such as the development of a multi-plant petrochemical complex.