The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, two Slovak schemes with a total budget of over 1.1 billion euros to help companies subject to the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) decarbonise their production processes and improve their energy efficiency. The schemes will be made available in part through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and in part through the EU Modernisation Fund.
“These 1.1 billion euros schemes will help Slovak industries to decarbonise their industrial processes and achieve greater energy efficiency,” said Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy. “The measures will also help Slovakia reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels, in line with the REPowerEU Plan, while ensuring that any potential competition distortions are kept to the minimum.”
The schemes aim to help certain industries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in their production processes as well as to implement energy efficiency measures in industrial installations. The measures supported under the schemes range from electrification projects to the installation of industrial waste heat recovery technologies.
The beneficiaries of the measures will be companies active in sectors subject to the EU ETS, which include, among others, energy-intensive industries (for example, refineries, steel works and companies active in the production of heavy metals, construction and chemical products).
The schemes are expected to avoid the release of 5.233 million tons of CO2 annually. This represents more than 12 per cent of Slovakia’s 2030 target (which means, 40 million tons of CO2 equivalent reduction compared to 1990).
