WV Stahl has called on Germany to accelerate government collection of green steel

The German Steel Industry Association (WV Stahl) welcomed the Bundestag’s passage of a bill to accelerate public procurement, but stated that the legislation in its current form would not yield tangible results for the industry or decarbonization.

The industry association emphasized that public procurement could become a key tool for supporting the industry’s transition to climate neutrality. This primarily involves creating stable demand for low-carbon basic materials, particularly steel and cement produced in the European Union.

However, WV Stahl notes that the draft law does not contain specific mechanisms for achieving this goal. In particular, it does not establish so-called lead markets for green products, does not define mandatory sustainability criteria, and does not include “Made in EU” requirements for public procurement.

According to the association’s CEO, Kerstin Maria Rippel, steel companies are already investing billions of euros in climate-neutral production technologies, so they need predictable demand and clear signals from the government right now.

The industry is particularly concerned about the postponement of key details to a future government decree, which may not be adopted until the end of June 2027. WV Stahl considers this timeline too late for an industry that is already undergoing a massive transformation.

The association also warned that without a “Made in EU” approach, public funds could effectively support the decarbonization of production in other regions of the world rather than in Europe. Therefore, the German government is urged to approve mandatory procurement criteria as soon as possible and to use existing national capabilities to support European industry.

As a reminder, German steelmakers have supported the new climate protection program (Klimaschutzprogramm 2026, KSP) adopted by the German government, though they emphasize the importance of properly organizing the proposed measures.