At the Kallanish Green Steel Strategies conference in Brussels on 10 November, voestalpine called for an extension of free allocation under the EU ETS, while SSAB stressed the importance of predictable carbon pricing and support for investments already under way. The comments were reported by Kallanish and republished by EUROMETAL on 11 November.
Funding the conversion and earning a return
voestalpine’s Wolf-Dieter Hohl put investment funding at the centre of his request for extended free allocation.
Both companies have committed to substantial plant changes. voestalpine’s October update puts the first melts at its new Linz and Donawitz furnaces in the first half of 2027. SSAB, meanwhile, targets the start of production at Oxelösund in the second quarter of 2027 and at the new Luleå mill in late 2029.
For a lower-emission production route, avoiding CO₂ emissions has a financial value linked to the allowance price. Thomas Hörnfeldt (SSAB) stressed the need for consistency over the decades in which steelmaking assets operate and warned that reserving support for new projects could reward companies that delay investment.
Export sales face a different comparison
EUROMETAL vice president Fernando Espada argued that European producers struggle to recover carbon costs on exports, including costs passed through electricity prices. Electrifying production can reduce emissions at the mill while leaving exposure to carbon costs embedded in purchased electricity.
The Commission’s 17 July proposal would slow the withdrawal of free allocation for CBAM sectors, extending the phase-out to 2038, and require member states to spend half their national ETS revenues on decarbonising ETS sectors. The proposed Investment Booster would provide support for 2028–2030, after both companies’ first milestones planned for 2027. Support for these projects would depend on the eligibility of investments committed before the scheme opens.
