EU Plans €1 Billion Auction to Decarbonise Industrial Process Heat

The European Commission is preparing to direct €1 billion toward cutting carbon emissions from industrial process heat, publishing final terms for a dedicated competitive auction set to launch in December.

This is the second pan-European call under Brussels’ clean-technology innovation programme — and the first designed specifically to reward emissions reductions in industrial heat production. The Commission’s climate directorate expects the initiative to accelerate investment in clean technologies and help bring energy costs down.

Industrial facilities such as chemical plants, steelworks and cement works rely heavily on fossil fuels to generate the process heat their operations require. Industrial heat production accounts for three-quarters of all emissions across the sector.

Three technology categories are eligible to compete: electrified solutions — including heat pumps, electric boilers, plasma burners and thermal accumulators; direct renewable heat such as solar thermal collectors and geothermal systems; and small modular reactors, which join this auction for the first time. Winners will receive a fixed premium per tonne of CO₂ avoided over five years.

Revised rules also lower the qualifying process temperature from 100°C to 80°C, broadening the range of eligible technologies. At a prior pilot stage, 65 projects were selected. The programme will be financed through proceeds from the sale of EU emissions trading scheme allowances.

Source: Balkan Green Energy News