European steelmakers called on the EU to cut electricity prices to around Eur50/MWh to safeguard the bloc’s industrial competitiveness and enable investment in low-carbon steel production, warning that persistently high power costs are driving investment decisions away from the region.
Eurofer, the European Steel Association, backed the broader industry call to action on Feb. 11 that demands urgent EU measures to reduce electricity prices, which the group said have become a major barrier to electrification and decarbonization in the steel sector. The appeal comes ahead of an EU leaders’ retreat on Feb. 12, where industrial policy is expected to be discussed.
Eurofer said restoring electricity prices closer to pre-2021 levels of Eur44/MWh, before the energy crisis, is essential for strengthening Europe’s steel industry and protecting industrial value chains. Current power prices, inflated by high taxes and carbon costs, are threatening investment decisions that steelmakers are making now, the association said.
“Steel is at the heart of Europe’s industrial ambition, but it is being held back by sky-high electricity prices and costs,” Henrik Adam, president of Eurofer and executive chairman of Tata Steel Netherlands Holding, said. “If the EU wants investment in low-carbon steel to happen in Europe, it must deliver total electricity costs closer to Eur50/MWh – across all member states.”
The steel industry’s concerns reflect broader worries about Europe’s industrial competitiveness as manufacturers face higher energy costs than rivals in other regions. For steelmakers, electricity is a particularly critical input as the sector transitions toward electric arc furnaces and other low-carbon production methods that require significant power consumption.
Eurofer has repeatedly urged Europe to address this critical issue for the steel industry, as short-term support measures are needed to maintain steel production and investment in Europe while longer-term structural reforms are implemented to decouple electricity prices from fossil fuel prices. Without effective relief from high power costs, investment will shift to other regions and European capacity will be lost, the group said.
“Steelmakers are taking decisions now,” Axel Eggert, director-general of Eurofer, said. “Without effective relief from high electricity prices, investment will move elsewhere and capacity will be lost. Keeping steel production in Europe is not just an industrial issue – it is essential for Europe’s economic security and strategic autonomy.”
The call to action was adopted by European companies and industries in Antwerp and was shared just before the EU leaders’ retreat. Eurofer was represented at the Antwerp event by two of its vice-presidents, Geert Van Poelvoorde, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe, and Mario Arvedi Caldonazzo, CEO of Arvedi Group.
