Germany will invest an additional €5 billion in reducing emissions from the steel industry, with the aim of strengthening efforts to achieve climate targets, Germany's economy minister Peter Altmaier stated after a meeting with representatives of the domestic steel industry.
According to Bloomberg, Mr. Altmaier said, "Steel is a key sector for Germany," adding, "At the same time, it has a special role in efforts to reduce emissions, because it is the largest industrial emitter of greenhouse gases." He went on to say that Germany "will invest in supporting steel mills’ hydrogen production projects and other research programs," and that, "the funds will also help build the infrastructure necessary to facilitate conversion to low-emissions metal production."
Minister Altmaier further commented "By 2050, Germany will need to invest more than €35 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector…and the government is prepared to offer subsidies up to the maximum allowed by EU state aid rules to green the industry."
Bloomberg pointed out that steelmakers have made some progress in reducing carbon emissions in recent years by improving plant efficiency, but now innovation has come to a halt. Making steel even cleaner would require a structural change, such as using hydrogen instead of coal to heat furnaces. However, this would cause a significant increase in production costs.