From Fortune · Sophie Dembinski · · 2m
Europe's founders face a choice: stay or leave
Founders are optimistic about Europe's clean energy future, but one in three have considered relocating. The EU must act fast to keep them.
In brief
Founders are optimistic about Europe's clean energy future, but one in three have considered relocating. The EU must act fast to keep them. European founders show growing confidence in the continent's clean energy sector, but one in three have considered leaving due to high energy costs, recruitment challenges and…
Founders see Europe's clean energy moment
Norrsken's European Impact Index 2026 surveyed seven hundred fifty entrepreneurs and investors. Eighty-five percent of founders expect revenues to rise over the next twelve months.
Investors warming to Europe as a destination
One in two investors said Europe has become a more attractive place to invest over the past twelve months, against one in four who said it has become less attractive.
But one in three founders want out
A stark one in three founders said they had considered relocating their company outside Europe in the past twelve months, including fifteen percent who considered it seriously.
“one in three founders said they had considered relocating their company outside Europe in the past twelve months”
Energy costs and talent drive departures
Founders cite high energy costs making it difficult to compete globally. Almost four in ten said attracting top talent is harder in Europe than in the US.
Investors skeptical of EU innovation policy
Around thirty-six percent of investors rated the EU's approach to innovation and entrepreneurship poorly or very poorly. Just six percent said the EU prioritises it very well.
Regulatory fragmentation blocks scaling
Over half of founders said regulatory differences between EU countries have hindered their ability to scale across borders, up from forty-seven point five percent last year.
Clean energy dominates investment priorities
Nearly thirty-seven percent of investors named energy and electrification as their top sector for impact capital allocation, more than three times the next closest sector.
Founders want a genuine single market
Forty-five percent of founders and almost six in ten investors named making the EU a genuinely single market as the key priority for European policymakers.
Von der Leyen commits to single market reform
During her State of the Union address on sixteenth September, President von der Leyen committed to overhauling single market rules by the end of next year.
Europtimism depends on delivery, not promises
Founders are still building and hiring in Europe, but their decision to stay rests on whether the EU follows through. The rising share reporting fragmentation suggests they are measuring commitment by results.
“Europtimism is real, but it is conditional”
The key point
European founders show growing confidence in the continent's clean energy sector, but one in three have considered leaving due to high energy costs, recruitment challenges and regulatory fragmentation across EU countries.
