Making €100 billion count: Turning Europe’s industrial decarbonisation ambitions into steel in the ground

The policy brief examines the proposed €100 billion Industrial Decarbonisation Bank (IDB) and argues that to avoid the bottlenecks seen in previous schemes like the Innovation Fund, the IDB must coordinate funding for shared infrastructure, use carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs), and strengthen demand signals for low-carbon products.

• Many industrial decarbonisation projects fail to reach operation despite funding; by June 2025, only 16 of 208 projects that signed grant agreements under the EU's Innovation Fund had entered into operation, while only 45 reached financial close.
• High production costs and uncertain demand hinder the deployment of early technologies. 'Near-zero emissions' steel costs are estimated to be up to 75% higher, and cement up to 125% higher, than conventional carbon-intensive alternatives.
• The IDB should utilize competitively allocated carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) to provide long-term operational support and make investments 'bankable', supplemented by project-development funding to ensure realistic cost estimates.
• To reduce risk and cost, the IDB should prioritize 'anchor projects' that enable shared infrastructure and align project funding with the delivery of CO2 transport and storage, hydrogen networks, and electricity grids.
• The EU should use the IDB or a similar platform to aggregate demand for low-carbon steel, cement, and plastics, potentially acting as an offtaker of last resort to move projects away from direct subsidies.

APA

Matić, A. (2026). Making €100 billion count: Turning Europe’s industrial decarbonisation ambitions into steel in the ground. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2026/04/making-100-billion-count-turning-europes-industrial-decarbonisation-ambitions-steel-ground/

Chicago

Matić, Adriana. Making €100 billion count: Turning Europe’s industrial decarbonisation ambitions into steel in the ground. Clean Air Task Force, 2026. https://www.catf.us/2026/04/making-100-billion-count-turning-europes-industrial-decarbonisation-ambitions-steel-ground/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Matić |first1=Adriana |title=Making €100 billion count: Turning Europe’s industrial decarbonisation ambitions into steel in the ground |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=8 April 2026 |url=https://www.catf.us/2026/04/making-100-billion-count-turning-europes-industrial-decarbonisation-ambitions-steel-ground/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mati2026making, author = {Matić, Adriana}, title = {{Making €100 billion count: Turning Europe’s industrial decarbonisation ambitions into steel in the ground}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.catf.us/2026/04/making-100-billion-count-turning-europes-industrial-decarbonisation-ambitions-steel-ground/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }