From Blueprint to Reality 2026

Clusters offer unique opportunities to reduce costs and spread risk through collaborative financing and resource sharing. By pooling capital and co- investing in key infrastructure – such as pipelines, grid interconnections or CO2 storage – companies and financiers can decrease unit costs and collectively de-risk their commitments. Cluster administrators could take a strategic approach, coordinating procurement activities and future-proofing infrastructure against anticipated market and/or regulatory changes. Notably, best- practice clusters often leverage central funding desks to pursue public funding opportunities. A case can be made to expand this method beyond individual project applications, advocating holistic approaches that optimize financing across the cluster and capital types. The collaboration models used by industrial clusters across different regulatory frameworks offer a valuable playbook for leveraging the proximity clusters create between infrastructure developers, clean energy suppliers and heavy industry offtakers. The four clusters profiled in the previous chapter illustrate how offtake agreements between these actors can accelerate commercial success by demonstrating tangible and viable markets. From a lender perspective, protective measures such as take-or-pay clauses help to ensure that contractually agreed-upon revenue streams and operational continuity are maintained even in the face of counterparty default or market disruptions. By clearly signalling market viability and sharing risk across the supply chain, clusters can secure increased financial support and convince investors of a project’s commercial potential. Financiers require upfront visibility into government mechanisms across the full project lifecycle to accurately assess risk and allocate capital. Transparent and early communication of available support helps unlock private investments, as investors and lenders are better able to structure financing according to evolving project needs. This is especially critical for early-stage, capital intensive technologies that drive many low-carbon projects, where traditional funding mechanisms can be insufficient. Useful instruments to leverage across project lifecycles include: –During development: grants and technical assistance to de-risk feasibility, permitting and design. –During construction: guarantee facilities to lower financing costs and crowd-in lenders. –During operations: CfDs and availability/ capacity payments to stabilize revenues. This phase-appropriate financing mix – deployed alongside green bonds and subsidized loans, where relevant – could help first movers overcome risk concentration and accelerate commercial viability in markets not yet ready for purely private finance. Given the highly regional nature of clusters, the importance of engagement and support from local governments cannot be overstated. Local governments can play a key role in ensuring financial instruments align with local market dynamics and infrastructure needs to maximize the impact of concessional finance.Leverage opportunities to optimize financing within clusters by pooling resources and future-proofing infrastructure Continue establishing strong offtake agreements to guarantee commercial viability at the operational stage Deploy a range of financial instruments with non-standard or concessional terms to stimulate market formation across the project lifecycleFor governmentsDriver 2 Driver 3 Driver 4 Taken together, these actions can turn industrial clusters into powerful platforms for delivery. By combining clearer policy signals, smarter risk-sharing and better-aligned capital, clusters can convert today’s project pipelines into bankable portfolios – moving industrial decarbonization from promising pilots to transformation at scale. From Blueprint to Reality: A Stronger Business Case for Shared Energy Infrastructure 36