EC approves €1.3 billion in state aid for ArcelorMittal’s decarbonization in Germany

EC considers the aid necessary and expedient to promote the production of environmentally friendly steel

The European Commission (EC) has approved €1.3 billion in state aid to help decarbonize the German facilities of global steelmaker ArcelorMittal. This is reported by Reuters.

EC said that assistance to heavy industry is necessary and appropriate to promote the production of clean steel 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 in early February. The company’s total planned investments amount to €2.5 billion. The funds will be used to replace blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces at the plants in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt.

As GMK Center reported earlier, at the end of 2023, the German government coalition reached an agreement on the federal budget for 2024 and reduced the expenditures of the climate fund. The budget for next year will be reduced by €17 billion by cutting federal grants, environmental subsidies, and certain expenses in a number of ministries. In particular, the expenditures of 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.

The German steel association WV Stahl commented on the situation, noting that the transition industry needs legal and financial certainty, planning security for those companies that are ready to invest billions in new and transformational technologies.