The European Council has adopted the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), a framework to enable the European Union manufacturing sector to reach 40 percent of the region’s annual deployment needs for clean energy technologies by 2030.
The legislation also aims to raise the share of the 27-member bloc in the global market for such technologies to 15 percent by 2040.
It simplifies the permitting process for projects, establishes an auction for the awarding of contracts and creates skills training platforms to secure supply of the needed workforce.
“The regulation aims to boost the industrial deployment of net-zero technologies that are needed to achieve the EU's climate goals, using the strength of the single market to reinforce Europe’s position as a leader in industrial green technologies”, the Council said in a statement.
In the permitting aspect, member states shall designate a national single authority to oversee the conduct of impact reviews or studies, resolve disputes, process documentary requirements and issue permits.
The regulation also requires contracting authorities to base awards “in a public procurement procedure on the most economically advantageous tender, which shall include the best price-quality ratio, comprising at least the sustainability and resilience contribution of the tender”, according to the proposal text.
To help ensure workforce availability, the regulation asks for the creation of European Net Zero Industry Academies. These academies are tasked with developing learning programs and materials concerning the development, production, installation, commissioning, operating, maintenance and recycling of net zero technologies.
Besides the regional regulatory framework, “Member States may at their own initiative establish net-zero regulatory sandboxes, allowing for the development, testing and validation of innovative net-zero technologies, in a controlled real-world environment for a limited time before their placement on the market or putting into service, thus enhancing regulatory learning and potential scaling up and wider deployment”, as stated in the proposal text.
Additionally the Net-Zero Industry Act sets an annual injection capacity of at least 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030 using storage sites in the Union territory, exclusive economic zones or continental shelf. Oil and gas companies will be allotted mandatory contributions to the injection target.
The regulation was proposed 2023 as part of the EU Green Industrial Plan, a package of manufacturing-focused initiatives to support the region’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050. The European Council and Parliament reached a provisional deal on the legislative proposal February 6, 2024.
“The Act creates the best conditions for those sectors that are crucial for us to reach net-zero by 2050”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. “Demand is growing in Europe and globally, and we are now equipped to meet more of this demand with European supply”.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said, “The NZIA sets ambitious objectives to multiply our clean tech manufacturing capacity by 2030”.
“Because without industrial production, we risk becoming net importers, losing jobs, and re-creating dependencies that we do not wish to reproduce after the Russian gas experience”, Breton added.
“The strategy was the easy part – what matters now is implementation and results on the ground. And I am confident, based on my on-site visits across European regions and discussions with Member States, financial institutions and industry, that Europe is ready to attract and accelerate investment”.
Before the Net-Zero Industry Act, EU member countries have already been ordered to set an indicative target for “innovative renewable energy technology” to make up at least five percent of newly installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The target is part of the Renewable Energy Directive, adopted October 9. It sets a binding target for the share of renewables in the bloc’s energy mix to be 42.5 percent by the end of this decade, up from 32 percent.
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