Ben McWilliams
Ben McWilliams is an Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel. He specialises in energy and climate policy.
He covers clean technologies and decarbonisation. He also researches policy tools for stimulating industrial decarbonisation and the implications of emerging energy systems – such as hydrogen – for Europe’s economic geography. He works on the European Clean Tech Tracker, compiling data and drawing insights for clean technology trends in Europe. He has also worked on the policy and industrial implications of the 2022 energy crisis.
He holds a MSc in Economic Policy from Utrecht University, having completed a thesis investigating the economic effects of carbon taxation in British Colombia.
Disclosure of interests
Featured work
European clean tech tracker
This tracker provides an overview of the main innovation, manufacturing and deployment trends in clean tech in Europe
European natural gas imports
This dataset aggregates daily data on European natural gas import flows and storage levels.
Europe has a solid basis for battery and electric vehicle manufacturing growth
Europe is successfully building up battery and EV manufacturing capacity, though mainly thanks to foreign investment
The case for delaying the application of the EU’s carbon border levy to electricity
The inclusion of electricity in CBAM creates more problems than it solves; ways should be found to exempt it
All work
Dataset
10 January 2026
European clean tech tracker
This tracker provides an overview of the main innovation, manufacturing and deployment trends in clean tech in Europe
Dataset
09 January 2026
European natural gas imports
This dataset aggregates daily data on European natural gas import flows and storage levels.
Event
19 January 2026
Divergent or convergent green tech paths?: China vs Europe
How might the EU and China’s respective strategies in green technologies shape global markets going forward?
Analysis
16 December 2025
Europe has a solid basis for battery and electric vehicle manufacturing growth
Europe is successfully building up battery and EV manufacturing capacity, though mainly thanks to foreign investment
Analysis
19 November 2025
The case for delaying the application of the EU’s carbon border levy to electricity
The inclusion of electricity in CBAM creates more problems than it solves; ways should be found to exempt it
First Glance
29 September 2025
Europe’s Clean Industrial Deal: four priorities to fulfil its promise
The Clean Industrial Deal presents an opportunity for Europe, but quick action is needed on four priorities to deliver its goals
Event
23 October 2025
Talks@Bruegel: Strategic Sectors, trade-offs and the future of industrial policy with Mehdi Benatiya Andaloussi
How can governments design industrial policies that boost resilience without imposing excessive costs on consumers and public finances?
Podcast
25 September 2025
China’s race to electrification
Is China turning into an “electrostate” — and how will that change the balance of global energy?
Newsletter
01 September 2025
Podcast
09 July 2025
Greening global industry: clean energy, trade and development
How to accelerate European green transition while cooperating with the Global South