Policy recommendations are now increasingly calling for similar approaches to support low-carbon industrial transformation. In September 2024, a report published by the European Union (EU) entitled The future of European competitiveness proposed the coordinated development of “green regional industrial clusters around the EU’s EIIs [Energy Intensive Industries]” to support their decarbonization, both by fostering “industrial symbiosis” in existing clusters and by creating new “green regional EII clusters”. 21 Likewise, a recent IEA report on advancing clean technology manufacturing highlighted that the costs associated with these facilities are typically lower in China, partly because of its ability to organize “industrial clusters covering the entire value chain”.22 China’s National Development and Reform Commission has referenced industrial parks and clusters as a central part of its “administrative measures for the special management of investment in the central budget for energy saving and carbon reduction”.23 Co-locating in clusters strengthens the business case for clean technology Today’s leading clean industrial clusters are maximizing the benefits of co-location. Port and industrial zones are establishing dedicated routes for transporting hydrogen and captured carbon, through shared pipelines and other transport networks. Proximity gives companies a natural advantage in securing users for shared infrastructure and buyers for energy products, making individual projects more attractive investment platforms. For first movers in hard-to- abate sectors, clusters help overcome a key barrier to financing: the ability to lock in credible offtakers. Building on the World Economic Forum’s January 2025 report, Unleashing the Full Potential of Industrial Clusters: Infrastructure Solutions for Clean Energies, which set out the case for clusters, governance models and early implementation lessons,24 this white paper zooms in on the financing and business case for shared energy infrastructure within clusters. To inform this analysis, the project team conducted 13 in-depth interviews between August and September 2025 with cluster administrators, financiers and project developers across select industrial clusters. These interviews, carried out specially for this report and complemented by targeted desk research, underpin the individual case studies and most of the findings presented here. Drawing on the above research, this white paper: –Illustrates the financial and business case for low-carbon industrial clusters, focusing on optimizing capital structures, cost-sharing mechanisms, risk mitigation strategies and key success factors. –Spotlights clusters at various stages of maturity on their journey towards FID – from early-stage clusters starting to show the financing benefits of an integrated approach, to advanced clusters leveraging shared infrastructure and collaboration to accelerate funding. –Captures key learnings and recommendations for project developers and policy-makers seeking to scale up industrial transition through clusters. For first movers in hard-to-abate sectors, clusters help overcome a key barrier to financing: the ability to lock in credible offtakers. 1.3 Report scope and methodology From Blueprint to Reality: A Stronger Business Case for Shared Energy Infrastructure 11

From Blueprint to Reality 2026