EC considers aid necessary and timely to promote environmentally friendly steel production
The European Commission (EC) has approved €1.3 billion in state aid to help decarbonise the German facilities of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal. This is reported by Reuters.
The EC stated that assistance to heavy industry is necessary and appropriate to promote clean steel production and expects a positive effect from the allocation of funds.
The intention to provide ArcelorMittal with €1.3 billion in subsidies for the decarbonization of German facilities was announced at the beginning of February. The company's total planned investments amount to 2.5 billion euros. The funds will be used to replace blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces at the Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt plants.
As the GMK Center previously reported, at the end of 2023, the German government coalition reached an agreement on the federal budget for 2024 and reduced spending on the climate fund. The budget for next year will be reduced by 17 billion euros by cutting federal grants, environmental subsidies and certain expenses in several ministries. In particular, expenditure from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), which is not part of the regular budget, will be reduced by €12 billion in 2024 and by €45 billion by 2027.
German steel association WV Stahl commented on the situation, noting that the transitioning industry needs legal and financial security, planning security for companies that are ready to invest billions in new and transformational technologies.
