The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has released a joint statement with Belgium-based WindEurope ahead of a key week where crucial decisions on energy and climate will take place at EU level.
Accordingly, the EU must speed up the availability and affordability of renewables and renewable hydrogen for industries such as steel which are ready to decarbonize on a large scale, in order to reach climate neutrality and independence from Russian fossil fuel supplies, EUROFER and WindEurope said.
There are now 60 low-carbon projects ready to be scaled at industrial level covering the main EU steel producing countries and companies. The number of projects grows by the month, and so their green energy and financial needs also increases. Today, capital investment is set at €31 billion, operational costs at €54 billion (data from before Russia’s war in Ukraine), while clean electricity needs amount to 150 TWh, half of which is for hydrogen production, by 2030. The carbon emissions reduction potential is equivalent to a cut of 55 percent compared to 1990 levels, EUROFER and WindEurope stated.
Delivering on these projects hinges on an abundant supply of renewable electricity and renewable hydrogen. Competitive and scalable wind energy is uniquely placed to meet this demand. But this will require accelerating deployment, its statement said.
“We call on the EU institutions and the member states to double down on their actions for guaranteeing security of supplies, strengthening critical supply chains necessary for the energy transition, and investing in the green technologies we need to the benefit of citizens and industry alike,” Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER, and Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, concluded.