Every EU measure in the steel view

Every measure in this sector's view, in the ranking's order. The score components behind the order are on each measure's own page.

1. Free carbon allowances for European steel are being withdrawn

   European steel makers lose their free allowances on a fixed schedule that reaches zero in 2038, which costs €2.58 per tonne of hot metal at today's carbon price and more every year after that.

   EU ETS revision · Art. 1(15)(b)(i), replacing Art. 10a(1a), second subparagraph of Directive 2003/87/EC · 2026-2038, applies from 30 September 2027

2. EU grants for making iron without coal

   €250 million has been awarded from the Innovation Fund to European steel projects that reduce iron ore without coal.

   EU ETS revision · Art. 1(17), inserting Art. 10cb of Directive 2003/87/EC · ongoing

3. Public contracts must buy low-carbon steel

   From 2029, public buyers have to require steel that meets the low-carbon and Union-origin rules the act sets, in the contracts the act covers.

   Industrial Accelerator Act · Art. 11(2) · From 1 January 2029 (Annex II) / [6 months after entry into force] (Annex III)

4. A quarter of the steel in public projects must be low-carbon

   From 2029, at least a quarter of the steel used in the buildings, infrastructure and vehicles the act covers has to be low-carbon steel.

   Industrial Accelerator Act · Art. 11(2); Annex II, Part I · From 1 January 2029

5. Oil and gas producers must provide somewhere to put the CO2

   Europe's oil and gas producers have to open, between them, enough permanent CO2 storage to meet the Union's target for 2030, each taking a share in proportion to what it produces.

   Net-Zero Industry Act · Art. 23(1) · Contribution to be available to the market by 2030

6. Importers pay for the carbon in the steel they bring in

   Importers of steel have to buy certificates covering the carbon emitted making it, and from 2028 those certificates have to be bought in the same year they are used.

   CBAM extension — downstream goods and anti-circumvention · Art. 1(13), adding a subparagraph to Art. 22(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 · from 2028

7. A low-carbon claim has to be checked by an accredited verifier

   Before a product can be called low-carbon, the emissions figures behind the claim have to be verified by an accredited verifier.

   Industrial Accelerator Act · Art. 10(2) · Once the underlying delegated acts on classification are adopted

8. Public support schemes must favour low-carbon materials

   From 2029, public schemes that pay for construction have to be built around the same low-carbon and Union-origin requirements as public contracts.

   Industrial Accelerator Act · Art. 12(1) · From 1 January 2029

9. CO2 pipelines and stores must be open to whoever needs them

   Whoever owns a CO2 pipeline or a storage site has to let others use it on fair and open terms, so that a capture project is not stopped by the party that owns the route to the ground.

   Net-Zero Industry Act · Art. 22(2) · Applies from 29 June 2024 (Art. 49(2))

10. Faster permits for projects recognised as strategic

    A project can apply to be recognised as strategic, which shortens its permitting, by filing evidence against the criteria together with a business plan and a financing outline.

    Net-Zero Industry Act · Art. 14(2) · Applies from 29 June 2024 (Art. 49(2))