Tectonic geopolitical shifts, intensifying heatwaves, supply crises and a changing global trade order are reshaping Romania’s strategic landscape. As energy, industry and technology become increasingly intertwined with questions of security and sovereignty, Romania has a significant opportunity to position itself as a leading green transition hub in Eastern Europe. However, it is important to note that this transformation cannot be achieved through technology and investment alone. Civil society and citizen-entities play a decisive role in shaping the decisions that will determine Romania’s industrial future.
A blog post by Léo Schillmöller
Romania has found itself in the spotlight of regional major powers and their neo-imperial ambitions. In this region Romania has historically played a key geopolitical role: as a resource-rich country with significant copper and graphite deposits, as well as situated at a geostrategically important position on the Black Sea, at the crossroads between Europe and the wider Middle East. The region is currently facing significant challenges, from shifting geopolitical fault lines to the triple ecological crisis of climate change, resource scarcity and biodiversity loss. Nonetheless, it should not be viewed solely through the lens of risk. Its geographical position, resources and industrial capacity also offer considerable potential to support Europe’s technological and industrial transition. Realising this potential requires Romania to be more strongly integrated into European value chains, developing as a hub for green infrastructure and technology in the process. This transformation encompasses not only renewable energy, but also new socio-technical systems that connect energy, industry, and bridging carbon management strategies. Power-to-X (PtX) — the conversion of electricity, ideally from renewable sources, into other energy carriers, fuels, heat, or chemical products — and Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCUS) — the capture and use of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a feedstock for industrial processes — are promising approaches for establishing new low-carbon value chains. They can also help reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels. These technologies are particularly relevant in energy-intensive sectors such as steel, cement, glass, paper, and chemical production, as well as in Southeast Europe undergoing structural change. In this region, deindustrialisation and changing ownership structures have already reshaped industrial landscapes. Yet, industrial transformation is not merely a technological challenge, but also a question of investment, ownership and control of strategic industries, regional development, and economic sovereignty.
At the same time, the deployment of these technologies is subject to significant technical, economic and political limitations. Although a detailed discussion of the various carbon management strategies lies beyond the scope of this format, a brief overview provides important context for understanding their respective roles and potential. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the process of capturing CO₂ from industrial processes and storing it permanently underground. Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) involves the capture of CO₂ and its subsequent utilisation as an input for the production of other products, including chemicals, fuels, and building materials, as opposed to its permanent storage. Collectively, CCS and CCU are designated Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), and they have the potential to assist (not to substitute strict emission reduction) in the reduction of emissions from „hard-to-abate“ industries where direct electrification is technically or economically challenging.
The scaling of these technologies is contingent upon the existence of enabling infrastructure, chiefly CO2 transport networks and energy storage systems such as batteries. These are imperative for the connection of industrial sites, the management of fluctuating renewable power and the integration of new low-carbon value chains. The necessity for infrastructure that is resilient to extreme weather conditions is becoming increasingly imperative as European cities prepare for a future characterised by more frequent and intense heatwaves. These climatic phenomena have the potential to exert additional pressure on energy, water and transport systems. However, their large-scale scalability and economic viability depend heavily on the geographical concentration of emission sources, available infrastructure, and investment capacity. This presents particular challenges in decentralised production systems involving large power plants alongside smaller facilities, such as waste-to-energy plants, biogas plants, wastewater treatment plants and regional mining operations. Therefore, CCUS should be understood as one element of a broader carbon-management portfolio strategy, alongside complementary approaches. Within European climate policy, these approaches complement central instruments such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). However, technological feasibility alone is insufficient; social legitimacy, participation and access to reliable information are also essential to prevent political polarisation. Controversies across Europe over nuclear power, heat pumps, and internal combustion engines demonstrate how technological debates can become political conflicts, and fears of transformation can be exploited by populist and anti-democratic actors. Therefore, an indiscriminate rejection of CCS, CCU and PtX would carry significant opportunity costs.
Decarbonizing the Core: Why CCU/CCUS and PtX in Romania?
The transition to a climate-neutral economy in Romania requires technologies that go far beyond expanding wind and solar capacity. This is where PtX becomes central. These technologies are crucial for “hard-to-abate” sectors. For Romania, this is relevant on two levels. First, for the maritime shipping sector, which plays a pivotal role via Romania’s Black Sea access and the Danube river artery. Second, for the domestic industrial base, where traditional sectors remain rooted. By strategically implementing PtX and CCU/CCUS approaches, Romania can not only future-proof these emission-heavy industries but also position itself as a pioneer in renewable energy, green feedstocks, and sustainable production of essential industrial materials across Eastern Europe.However, the scaling of these advanced decarbonisation technologies require more than just clean energy; it demands a resilient industrial backbone of strategic hardware, high-tech components, and critical raw materials. From a (regional) policy perspective, the emergence of new technologies is highly relevant because it reveals a great deal about the dominance and decision-making structures of social systems. The CCS/CCUS example shows that the consensus in Europe is moving towards the principle of “as little as possible, as much as necessary” in carbon management. However, what this means in practice is still unclear in terms of both the scope of emissions and the regional and industrial sectors, and depends on the development and speed of the technology(ies). Regardless of the political party, most relevant stakeholders see CCUS, albeit in different political spectra, as a piece of the industrial transformation puzzle. It is imperative that carbon management technologies remain subject to robust democratic oversight and are guided by the principles of causality and sufficiency. Those responsible for causing emissions should also be held accountable for managing them, while the use of carbon management should be limited to essential areas and phased out as time-efficient as possible.
The Path to a Tech Hub: Geopolitics and Critical Resources
Romania’s potential to become a resilient technology hub is rooted in its function as a geographical and economic crossroads. The geopolitical importance of the Black Sea, by its critical role in the Ukrainian grain corridors and the defense against maritime and drone threats, has pushed the country to the forefront of European security architecture. At the same time, Romania’s economy is diversifying rapidly into high-tech sectors, including strategic partnerships semiconductor production. Coupled with the substantial deposits of rare earth elements and critical raw materials across the Western Balkans and especially neighboring Serbia, the wider region possesses the physical foundation required for the European energy transition. Romania can act as an industrial and technological integrator here, processing some of the critical raw materials locally and feeding them into green European supply chains.
The Role of the EU: Stabilization and Green Innovation
On this transformative path, the European Union holds a dual strategic responsibility: it serves as both a financial catalyst and a political anchor. Through the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and cohesion funds, European stakeholders possess powerful levers to steer investments into green infrastructure, technology, and innovation. Concurrently, Romania’s complete accession to the Schengen Area since January 2025 has acted as a catalyst for the development of cross-border economic and research networks. The elimination of land-border frictions has already resulted in a reduction of transit times for industrial supply chains along the Danube and Western Balkan routes. However, in order to maximise this momentum, it is necessary to modernise border infrastructure and streamline cross-border energy grids.
However, this European anchoring serves another critical purpose. In light of rising populist and nationalist tendencies in Romania (the far right party AUR was estimated at around 36% in elections polls), EU frameworks provide a vital foundation for stability. By ensuring that European funding flows directly into future-proof jobs and infrastructure modernization, the EU strengthens the resilience of civil society, visibly improving lives on the ground and effectively depriving populist narratives of their leverage.
Outlook: Linking Energy Sovereignty with Civil and Geopolitical Security
In a multipolar world order, Romania is far from being a peripheral border state of the EU. It is a key actor for European energy sovereignty and geostrategic security in the Black Sea region. Despite, and indeed also because of, domestic polarization and external pressures, transforming the country into a green technology hub offers a historic opportunity to link economic resilience with geopolitical self-determination. Crucially, this transformation must also be democratically governed: civil society, independent scientific expertise and citizens’ bodies should have a decisive role in determining which technologies are deployed, at what scale, and under what conditions, rather than decisions being driven solely by industry or political actors.If the EU and Bucharest invest decisively in technologies such as PtX and CCU/CCUS today, they will not only secure tomorrow’s climate targets but also safeguard the geopolitical agency of the entire continent.
Léo Schillmöller is a junior researcher specializing in science and technology policy, with a focus on environmental sustainability and energy transitions. Drawing on firsthand regional expertise gained while living in Bucharest, his work explores sociotechnical transformation pathways in Southeastern Europe. He focuses on integrating green technologies into regional supply chains to foster sustainable industrial development and European geopolitical resilience.
Image via Pixabay
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