The next European Commission must champion industrial decarbonisation [Promoted content]

The upcoming European election will mark a turning point in the bloc’s history. Faced with unprecedented geopolitical challenges, the EU finds itself at the crossroads on several pressing issues, from climate change to economic disparities and migrations.  

Emmanuel Brutin is the Public Affairs Director at CEMBUREAU.

European industries are also facing their own ‘make or break’ moment, in a context of high energy prices and a challenging international environment. As shown in Enrico Letta’s report on the future of the EU single market, and in the recently-adopted Antwerp Declaration, the future of European industries and that of the EU are closely related. 

At this critical juncture, CEMBUREAU’s updated Net Zero Roadmap offers some important findings.  

Four years after the publication of the sector’s initial carbon neutrality roadmap, we decided to take stock of where we are, to revise our level of ambition. And our message is clear: in light of ongoing decarbonisation projects, we can scale up our net zero ambitions. Yet, a robust policy framework is indispensable to meet these.  

As evidenced in our roadmap, the pipeline of decarbonisation investments in the cement sector is indeed strong. A case in point is carbon capture: many projects across the EU are now foreseen to be operational before 2030, allowing to permanently store up to 12 million tons of CO2 yearly by then – a major twist as compared to four years ago, when our roadmap did not foresee any operational CCUS facility in 2030. The hunt on supplementary cementitious materials to reduce clinker content is ongoing, with the first calcined clay installations being built in European plants. The sector’s efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels are also very telling: today, 53% of the fuels used in cement production are replaced with alternative waste and biowaste streams, a major success story.  

These developments have allowed us to increase our ambition. By 2030, our updated roadmap now projects a 37% reduction in CO2 emissions related to cement production, and 50% down the value chain. This reduction can reach 78% on cement by 2040, and 93% down the value chain. By aiming for carbon neutrality on cement by 2050, the sector has the potential to become carbon negative over the value chain. 

Meeting this ambition however requires a change of focus in the upcoming European cycle, with a true industrial deal alongside the Green Deal. 

The past five years were marked by the development of key policies – the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) Review, the EU Net Zero Industry Act – which have laid the foundations for investments in the sector. The coming five years must be that of implementation, with a mobilisation of all parts of government (EU and national level) to focus on industrial decarbonisation.   

Firstly, industrial sectors like cement need to an effective Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to level the playing field on CO2. CBAM is indispensable to provide EU companies with the confidence to realise investments in Europe, as opposed to non-EU jurisdictions where there are little or no carbon constraints.  It should strictly mirror the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and be made fully watertight, preventing fraud and evasion.   

Secondly, we urgently need to close the financing gap for investments in breakthrough technologies. The EU ETS innovation fund has proven extremely helpful to initiate investments in carbon capture in our sector but is vastly over-subscribed; it should now be strengthened and focused on deployment. And financial solutions exist: for instance, allocating 75% of the future payments by the cement sector into the EU ETS (approximately €80-100bn by 2034) in a specific cement decarbonisation fund would be pivotal to support investments.  

Thirdly, industrial sectors need to access affordable decarbonised energy, infrastructure and raw materials. Faster permitting, measures to protect customers in case of energy price spikes, as well as the deployment of an electricity networks and CO2 pipelines to support industrial decarbonisations, are all essential parts of the toolbox.  

Last but not least, we need ambitious policies to create lead markets. An EU low-carbon products strategy, as well as a step change in circular economy practices, will be key to accompany and reward front-runners.  

In conclusion, CEMBUREAU’s net zero roadmap shows that the cement sector is making significant headways and is ready to accelerate. The next EU political cycle must be about prioritising industrial decarbonisation to allow these ambitions to materialise.  

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For further information please refer to CEMBUREAU’s Net Zero Roadmap update.