Europe’s Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) – expected to come into force at the end of June – has set a target of 50 million tonnes of annual injection capacity in EU geological CO2 storage sites by 2030.
NZIA sets a benchmark for the manufacturing capacity of strategic Net Zero technologies to meet at least 40% of the EU’s annual deployment needs by the same year.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the NZIA provides a regulatory environment that allows it to scale up clean technologies manufacturing quickly. “Demand is growing in Europe and globally, and we are now equipped to meet more of this demand with European supply,” she said.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said with the final adoption of the NZIA, it will simplify and accelerate permitting procedures which will enhance competitiveness.
Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President for European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, said the NZIA will guarantee European support to a wide range of strategic and critical sectors.
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, added that the EU aims to lead the booming clean tech market – for the sake of our climate neutrality, but also for European competitiveness, jobs, energy security, and economic and political resilience.
“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.”
Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, said the energy crisis taught us that we must avoid any dependency on a single supplier and with NZIA, Europe will be well equipped with a stronger industrial base to achieve the clean energy transition.
She said, “Through easier and faster permitting for manufacturing projects, support for innovation and skills and better market access for high-quality clean tech products, we will make sure European clean tech manufacturers can compete on a level playing field. This will ensure we can reach our ambitious renewables and energy efficiency targets for 2030 while maintaining our industrial competitiveness.”
Separately, the EU and Australia today signed an MOU to cooperate on sustainable critical and strategic minerals.
It seeks to enable the EU to diversify its supplies of materials necessary for the green and digital transitions, while contributing to the development of Australia’s domestic critical minerals sector.
source: gasworld.com (Dominic Ellis)