Lawmakers from the European Parliament and the Council announced today that they have reached a provisional agreement on the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), a new regulation that aims to increase clean technology industrial capabilities and capabilities across Europe.
The agreement follows the introduction of the NZIA proposed by the European Commission in March 2023, forming one of the key elements of its Green Deal Industrial Plan strategy to increase the competitiveness of Europe's net zero industries and support the EU's transition to climate neutrality.
The proposal included a series of measures aimed at increasing the production of technologies essential to achieving climate neutrality and setting a target of at least 40% of annual deployment needs for strategic net-zero emissions technologies to be manufactured in the EU by 2030.
The law supports 8 specific technologies, including solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies, onshore wind and offshore renewable energy, batteries and storage, heat pumps and geothermal energy, electrolyzers and fuel cells, biogas/biomethane, carbon capture and storage ( CCS), and network technologies and details a series of specific actions to support their development in the EU, including simplifying licensing processes, setting the target of achieving 50 million tonnes of annual CO2 storage by 2030 and introducing sustainability and resilience criteria in public contracts and auctions, as well as the creation of “Net-Zero Industry Academies” to support the development of a qualified workforce with net zero emissions.
Key aspects of the regulation adjusted in the agreement include changes to simplify the rules on construction permit procedures, establishing a maximum of 18 months to deliver a license for large net-zero manufacturing projects exceeding 1 GW and 12 months for smaller projects , and with shorter deadlines for strategic projects.
The new agreement also promotes the development of net-zero acceleration “valleys,” or areas that concentrate several companies involved in specific technologies, in order to create clusters of industrial activity focused on net-zero emissions.
The new rules would also regulate the use of schemes designed to encourage the purchase of green technology products, in addition to defining the contributions to sustainability and resilience considered in public procurement procedures, establishing the contribution to environmental sustainability as a mandatory minimum requirement and apply contribution criteria to resilience. , with the offer being considered “non-resilient” if there is a dependence on a third country of more than 50% for a specific strategic technology with net-zero emissions.
With the provisional agreement reached, the new rules will have to be formally adopted by the Council and the EU Parliament before they can be turned into law.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:
“The political agreement on the Net-Zero Industry Law is a significant step forward towards achieving our ambitious climate and economic goals. It demonstrates our collective commitment to building a more sustainable, resilient and competitive industrial sector in Europe. Together, we are making the EU a global leader in the clean energy transition.”
