European regulation and bureaucracy are counteracting the region’s own good intentions to be a leader in the transition to cleaner steelmaking, according to panellists at last week’s AIST European Steel Forum 2024 in Essen.
Bettina Hübschen of the state of Saarland’s hydrogen-promoting agency, Saarländische Wasserstoffagentur, bemoaned the scale of regulation facing the market.
“We have succeeded in over-regulating a market that does not even exist,” she told delegates at the conference attended by Kallanish. “We need to give companies room to breathe,” she added, noting the complicated funding landscape in the region. “There are various schemes but [it is] very complicated for the companies to understand ‘what is right for me’.”
She also noted the long timeframe for applying and awaiting the outcome of the funding decision, which could take years, slowing down the process.
Other panellists concurred, with René Gissinger of Pipe GmbH saying: “We need to allow the market to do its job.”
He called CBAM a “horrible thing”, adding: “The ambition is high, but the execution is low.”
Gissinger nevertheless supports the drive towards CO2-reduced steels, as he hears customers asking for it. “Steel needs to turn green not to stay a dinosaur,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Nicole Voigt of Boston Consulting Group warned not to get lost in easy “regulation-bashing”. During her research regarding CBAM, for example, she has noticed unexpected interest from overseas. “We get a lot of inquiries from China, which I did not expect,” she explained.
Christian Koehl Germany
