Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl urges relief for energy-intensive industries

Germany’s steel industry has welcomed the federal government’s latest push to reform the country’s energy transition, but warns that energy costs must come down if domestic industry is to remain competitive.

In a monitoring report published on Monday, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy assessed the current state of the “Energiewende” and outlined ten measures aimed at reducing costs, strengthening resilience and accelerating the ramp-up of green technologies.

Katherina Reiche, the new federal minister, called for a more targeted approach to ensure that renewables expansion, grid stability, and industrial decarbonisation proceed in sync.

The steel sector, which is heavily exposed to electricity and hydrogen costs, sees the new agenda as a step in the right direction – but insists that urgent relief for energy-intensive companies is still missing.

Kerstin Maria Rippel, managing director of the steel industry association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl, said the government’s signal was welcome but overdue. In her view, reducing system costs and enabling competitive power prices must now take priority. Without this, Germany risks falling behind as an industrial location.

The industry is particularly concerned about the financial impact of capacity mechanisms for backup power, which are seen as necessary to stabilise supply during periods of low renewable generation. “We support the idea in principle,” Rippel noted in a separate statement, “but it must not make electricity even more expensive.”

Hydrogen remains another unresolved issue. While widely seen as critical for the decarbonisation of steelmaking, the rollout has been slower than expected. Rippel emphasised that the regulatory framework needs to become more flexible – including with regard to hydrogen sourcing – to enable timely investment decisions.

The association concluded that Germany’s energy transition must now deliver: more renewable energy, more grid capacity, and a faster hydrogen ramp-up – all at internationally competitive prices. Only then, the statement said, could “clean steel made in Germany” become a reality.

Source and Photo: WV Stahl