Resolutsiooni liik: Riigikantselei resolutsioon
Viide: Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium / / ; Riigikantselei / / 2-5/23-00519
Resolutsiooni teema: Kliimaneutraalse tööstuse õigusakt
Adressaat: Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium
Ülesanne: Tulenevalt Riigikogu kodu- ja töökorra seaduse § 152` lg 1 p 2 ning Vabariigi
Valitsuse reglemendi § 3 lg 4 palun valmistada ette Vabariigi Valitsuse seisukoha ja otsuse
eelnõu järgneva algatuse kohta, kaasates seejuures olulisi huvigruppe ja osapooli:
- Kliimaneutraalse tööstuse õigusakt (Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing a framework of measures for
strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero
Industry Act)), COM(2023) 161.
EISi toimiku nr: 23-0134
Tähtaeg: 08.05.2023
Adressaat: Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium, Justiitsministeerium, Keskkonnaministeerium,
Rahandusministeerium
Ülesanne: Palun esitada oma sisend Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeeriumile
seisukohtade kujundamiseks antud eelnõu kohta (eelnõude infosüsteemi (EIS) kaudu).
Tähtaeg: 24.04.2023
Lisainfo: Eelnõu on kavas arutada valitsuse 18.05.2023 istungil ja Vabariigi Valitsuse
reglemendi § 6 lg 6 kohaselt sellele eelneval nädalal (10.05.2023) EL koordinatsioonikogus.
Esialgsed materjalid EL koordinatsioonikoguks palume esitada hiljemalt 08.05.2023.
Kinnitaja: Katrin Juhandi, Euroopa Liidu asjade direktori asetäitja
Kinnitamise kuupäev: 29.03.2023
Resolutsiooni koostaja: Elen Nurme
[email protected], 693 5201
Eelnõude infosüsteemis (EIS) on antud täitmiseks ülesanne.
Eelnõu toimik: 13.1/23-0134 - COM(2023) 161 Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act)
Eelnõu kohta seisukoha esitamine Vabariigi Valitsuse istungile vastavalt Riigikantselei 29.03.2023 resolutsioonile.
Osapooled: Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium
Tähtaeg: 08.05.2023 00:00
Link eelnõu toimiku vaatele: https://eelnoud.valitsus.ee/main/mount/docList/912433ef-2eae-4f1a-a012-08d1708b6896
Link menetlusetapile: https://eelnoud.valitsus.ee/main/mount/docList/912433ef-2eae-4f1a-a012-08d1708b6896?activity=1
Eelnõude infosüsteem (EIS)
https://eelnoud.valitsus.ee/main
EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.3.2023
COM(2023) 161 final
ANNEX
ANNEXES
to the
proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero
technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act)
EN EN
ANNEX
STRATEGIC NET-ZERO TECHNOLOGIES
Solar photovoltaic and solar thermal
1.
technologies
Onshore wind and offshore renewable
2.
technologies
3. Battery/storage technologies
Heat pumps and geothermal energy
4.
technologies
5. Electrolysers and fuel cells
Sustainable biogas/biomethane
6.
technologies
Carbon Capture and storage (CCS)
7.
technologies
8. Grid technologies
EN 1 EN
EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, 16.3.2023
COM(2023) 161 final
2023/0081 (COD)
Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero
technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act)
(Text with EEA relevance)
EN EN
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
• Reasons for and objectives of the proposal
The transition to a climate neutral, clean economy and the corresponding overhaul of our
energy system present significant opportunities in terms of developing the net-zero
technology sectors and creating quality jobs and growth. The global market for key mass-
manufactured net-zero technologies is set to triple by 2030 with an annual worth of around
EUR 600 billion1. Our partners and competitors have grasped this opportunity and are
deploying ambitious measures to secure significant parts of this new market. These
developments are also driven by security of supply considerations. The resilience of future
energy systems will be measured notably by a secure access to the technologies that will
power those systems - wind turbines, electrolysers, batteries, solar PV, heat pumps and other.
In turn, a secure supply of energy will be essential for ensuring sustainable economic growth,
and ultimately public order and security.
In that context, the Commission’s communication on the Green Deal Industrial Plan2 of 1
February 2023, presented a comprehensive plan for enhancing the competitiveness of
Europe's net-zero industry and supporting the fast transition to climate neutrality. The plan is
articulated around the following four pillars: (i) a predictable and simplified regulatory
environment; (ii) faster access to funding; (iii) enhancing skills and (iv) open trade for
resilient supply chains.
The Net-Zero Industry Act is part of the actions announced in that context, aiming at
simplifying the regulatory framework, and improving the investment environment for the
Union’s manufacturing capacity of technologies that are key to meet the Union’s climate
neutrality goals and ensure that our decarbonised energy system is resilient whilst
contributing to reducing pollution, to the benefit of public health and planetary environmental
wellbeing.
Global production of electric vehicles will increase 15-fold by 2050, while the deployment of
renewables will nearly quadruple. Deployment of heat pumps will increase more than six
times by 2050, compared to today and production of hydrogen from electrolysis or natural
gas-based hydrogen with carbon capture and storage will reach 450 Mt in 2050. This will
translate into global cumulative manufacturing investments of USD 1.2 trillion required to
bring enough capacity on track with the global 2030 targets3. China accounts for 90% of
investments in manufacturing facilities.
Europe is currently a net importer of net-zero energy technologies, with about one-quarter of
electric cars and batteries, and nearly all solar PV modules and fuel cells imported, mostly
from China. For solar photovoltaic technologies and their components, this dependency
exceeds 90% of products in certain upstream segments of the value chain, such as ingots and
wafers. In other sectors, where the EU industry is still strong, such as wind turbines and heat
pumps, our trade balance is deteriorating and EU producers face rising energy and input costs.
1
Energy Technology Perspectives (2023), International Energy Agency.
2
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A Green Deal
Industrial Plan For The Net-Zero Age, Brussels, COM(2023) 62 final, 1.2.2023.
3
Energy Technology Perspectives (2023), International Energy Agency.
EN 1 EN
Furthermore, in the area of carbon capture and storage, the emergence of a CCS value chain
in the EU is currently being hampered by a lack of CO2 storage sites.
At the same time, net-zero energy technologies are at the centre of strong geostrategic
interests and at the core of the global technological race. Countries are keen to secure their
supply in the most advanced energy production technologies and drive the clean transition.
Other world regions are heavily investing and rolling out support measures to innovate and
strengthen their production capabilities. The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act will
mobilise over USD 360 billion by 2032. Japan's green transformation plans aim to raise up to
JPY 20 trillion (approximately EUR 140 billion) – through ‘green transition' bonds. India has
put forward the Production Linked Incentive Scheme to enhance competitiveness in sectors
like solar photovoltaics and batteries. The United Kingdom, Canada and many others have
also put forward their investment plans in net-zero technologies.
Furthermore, within the past year, many European sectors, in particular the energy-intensive
industries such as fertilisers, steel, and cement, have been severely impacted by the energy
crisis. To remain competitive and circular whilst reaching their decarbonisation and zero
pollution goals, these industries need access to net-zero technologies such as batteries, heat
pumps, solar panels, electrolysers, fuel cells, wind turbines, and carbon capture and storage.
In addition, these technologies also play a key role in the Union’s open strategic autonomy,
ensuring that citizens have access to clean, affordable, secure energy. The Union has all the
elements to become an industrial leader in the net-zero technologies market of the future: the
Union’s Climate Law provides clear long-term objective; the Union has a strong economy
combined with a talented workforce and first-of-a-class infrastructure. The goal is not only to
reduce dependencies, but also to contribute to providing industry in the EU with the
technologies it needs to decarbonise, and to provide citizens with clean, affordable, and secure
energy, including for vulnerable low- and lower middle-income households and consumers.
The Union’s net-zero ecosystem was worth over EUR 100 billion in 2021, doubling in value
since 20204.
This explanatory memorandum accompanies the proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework of measures for strengthening
Europe’s net-zero energy technologies manufacturing ecosystem (Net-Zero Industry Act).
This proposal delivers on the objective to strengthen Europe’s net-zero energy technologies
manufacturing ecosystem outlined in the Commission Communication on the Green Deal
Industrial Plan.
The Net-Zero Industry Act aims at addressing the following core drivers of net-zero
technology manufacturing investments:
– improving investment certainty, policy focus and coordination through the setting of
clear objectives and monitoring mechanisms;
– lowering administrative burden for developing net-zero manufacturing projects
including by streamlining administrative requirements and facilitating permitting,
setting up regulatory sandboxes and ensuring access to information;
– facilitating access to markets by specific measures related to public demand through
public procurement procedures and auctions, as well as through schemes to support
private demand by consumers;
4
The rise of European Clean Tech – Report, https://dealroom.co/uploaded/2022/04/Dealroom-Talis-
Climate-Tech-Europe-2022.pdf
EN 2 EN
– facilitating and enabling carbon capture and storage projects, including by enhancing
the availability of CO2 storage sites;
– supporting innovation, including through regulatory sandboxes;
– enhancing skills for quality job creation in net-zero technologies;
– coordinating net-zero industrial partnerships.
• Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area
The uptake in clean energy technologies is a powerful enabler for the sustainability transition
and can lead to new products and more efficient and effective ways of generating energy that
contribute to the European Green Deal5 objectives, contributing to both the 2030 climate and
energy targets and to the 2050 objective of climate neutrality. These technologies are also key
to decarbonising the Union’s industry and preserving it in Europe.
Supply disruptions and dependencies on other regions for the provision of clean energy
technologies can slow down the sustainability transition of the EU and affect all sectors of the
economy. To address the disruptions and dependencies, the proposal strengthens Europe’s
manufacturing capacity of net-zero energy technologies. Where applicable, facilities should
be fully compliant with requirements stemming from Union legislation such as related to
environmental impact assessment, emissions to air, water and soil, including the risk and
prevention of industrial accidents, and seek to ensure high energy and resource and water
efficiency. It is also in line with the Critical Raw Materials Act Regulation, proposed in
parallel to this Regulation6.
This proposal is consistent with the Commission’s Communication updating the 2020 new
industrial strategy7 in May 2021 that identifies areas of strategic dependencies that could lead
to vulnerabilities such as supply shortages. The proposed Regulation is also fully aligned with
the proposals in the final outcome report of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
This proposal is provided in light of the opportunities offered by the Innovation Fund, the
InvestEU8 programme, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Horizon Europe and cohesion
policy programmes which will provide possibilities for supporting the objectives of this Act.
Lastly, this initiative is also consistent with Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European
Parliament and of the Council establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable
investment (Taxonomy)9.
5
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, The European Green
Deal, COM(2019) 640, 11.12.2019.
6
OJ: Please insert in the text the number of the the Critical Raw Materials Act Regulation and insert the
number, date, title and OJ reference of that Regulation in the footnote.
7
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, “Updating the 2020
New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery” COM(2021) 350
final, 5.5.2021.
8
Regulation (EU) 2021/523 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 March 2021
establishing the InvestEU Programme and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/1017, OJ L 107, 26.3.2021,
p. 30.
9
Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the
establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment and amending Regulation (EU)
2019/2088 (Text with EEA relevance), (OJ L 198, 22.6.2020, p. 13).
EN 3 EN
• Consistency with other Union policies
The proposal contributes to the objectives of parts of the Fit for 55 package that focus on
decarbonising EU industry, in particular hard-to-abate sectors, increased electrification and
promoting cleaner vehicles and fuels in a technologically neutral way10. The revision of the
CO2 emission standards for new cars and vans aims at further reducing the greenhouse gas
emissions of these vehicles, providing a clear and realistic pathway towards zero-emission
mobility. Consumer demand for zero emission vehicles, such as electrically chargeable
vehicles, is increasing already11 and can also create significant co-benefits for the
achievement of the zero pollution ambition12.
The proposed measures will also contribute to the EU’s resilience and open strategic
autonomy by ensuring the security of supply of key energy-related technologies, which is
crucial both for supporting the development of other sectors of the economy and for public
order and security.
This proposal is consistent with the EU’s approach to achieve a fair and just green
transition13. It is also consistent with actions foreseen under the 2023 European Year of Skills
and ongoing initiatives under the EU Pact for Skills and its large-scale skills partnerships as
well as other existing skills policies, such as the Blueprints for sectoral cooperation on skills.
The assessment, monitoring and forecasting of skills needs will build upon and fully take into
account the work of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training
(Cedefop) and the European Labour Authority (ELA), among others. The European Network
of Employment Services (EURES) facilitates job placements and has on average more than 3
million job vacancies available on the portal. Given the variety of job vacancies and
employers and its tool for automated skills-based matching, the placements facilitated by the
EURES network and EURES portal also provide concrete results as it comes to jobs relevant
for the Net-Zero Industry. To stimulate increased investment in training in new Net-Zero
technologies and production processes, the Commission in its Green Deal Industrial Plan
announced, among others, an increase in the General Block Exemption Regulation ceiling for
aid to SMEs for training from EUR 2 million to EUR 3 million, that skills measures will be
taken into account in assessing Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), and
that the Commission will explore the treatment of training expenditure by companies as an
investment rather than an expense or operating cost.
The proposal is consistent with the Communication ‘harnessing talent in Europe’s regions’ by
aiming to reskill and upskill Europe’s workforce, including in regions having fallen or at the
risk of falling in talent development traps. It will inter alia take into account the talent booster
mechanism developed to support EU regions affected by the accelerated decline of their
working age population. The proposal is moreover consistent with actions under the New
European Innovation Agenda, which includes a flagship action on fostering, attracting and
10
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 'Fit for 55': delivering the EU's
2030 Climate Target on the way to climate neutrality. COM(2021) 550, 14.7.2021.
11
For instance, the share of electric cars in new sales in Europe is increasing and is expected to make up
14% in 2021.
12
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All
EU Action Plan: 'Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil', COM(2021) 400 final, 12.05.2021.
13
Council recommendation of 16 June 2022 on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality, (OJ C
243, 27.6.2022, p. 35).
EN 4 EN
retaining deep tech talents and targets 1 million deep tech talents over a 3-year period across
all Member States.14
The proposal promotes the development of net-zero manufacturing projects in less developed
and transition regions by granting them a simple and automatic access to strategic status. The
proposal thus pursues cohesion objectives and contributes to the convergence of these regions
by building sustainable and future proof economic assets. By creating a framework for the
manufacturing of specific net-zero technologies, the proposal complements any applicable
requirements under the Ecodesign Regulation15, as well as with its proposed amendment16 and
their implementing measures.
2. LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY
• Legal basis
This Regulation pursues the general objective of setting up a legal framework which supports
the development of the manufacturing of net-zero energy technologies in the Union, in order
to support the Union’s 2030 decarbonisation targets and 2050 climate neutrality target and to
ensure the security of supply for net-zero technologies needed to safeguard the resilience of
the Union’s energy system.
This general objective translates into specific objectives of facilitating investments for net-
zero technologies (pillar 1), reducing CO2 emissions (pillar 2), facilitating access to markets
(pillar 3), enhancing skills for quality job creation in net-zero technologies (pillar 4),
supporting innovation (pillar 5) and creating a specific structure for implementing these
objectives both in terms of governance and of monitoring (pillars 6 and 7).
The appropriate legal basis is therefore Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (‘the Treaty’) which allows the Union to take measures that increase
harmonisation in order to create a level playing field within the Union in which net-zero
technology manufacturing can flourish, which is conducive to innovation and facilitates the
green transition.
First, the specific objective of ensuring the proper functioning of the internal market by
setting harmonised rules for the increase in manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies
in the Union will allow to address the existing fragmentation of the internal market on
essential elements regarding for instance permit granting processes for producers of net-zero
technologies. It will also increase legal certainty and simplify administrative burden for
producers wishing to build new or expand existing production facilities within the Union,
while creating the conditions for facilitating access to funding. The legal basis for this pillar is
therefore Article 114 of the Treaty, which provides for the adoption of measures to ensure the
establishment and functioning of the internal market.
To help reduce CO2 emissions in the Union, a Union target for CO2 injection capacity is
defined under the second pillar, along with measures needed to achieve it.
14
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on A New European Innovation
Agenda, COM(2022)332 final, 05.07.2022.
15
Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing
a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products (recast) (Text with
EEA relevance), (OJ L 285, 31.10.2009, p.10).
16
Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing
Directive 2009/125/EC, COM/2022/142 final, 30.03.2022.
EN 5 EN
The third specific objective of facilitating access to the single market for net-zero
technologies under the third pillar, requires encouraging public and private demand for
sustainable products, including by ensuring that public buyers consistently apply criteria to
ensure a high level of sustainability and resilience of the net-zero products they procure.
The fourth specific objective aims at creating synergies between Member States and
harmonising the promotion of a skilled, trained and adaptable workforce and labour markets
responsive to economic change in the clean energy transition.
Supporting innovation under the fifth pillar also requires coordination among Member States
for setting up sandboxes in order to ensure a level playing within the Union for
experimentation and to allow for similar exemptions from Union law.
Finally, the sixth and seventh pillar create a harmonised governance structure and uniform
monitoring requirements to assess the progress made towards the common target of increasing
manufacturing of net-zero technologies.
• Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)
The objectives of the proposal cannot be achieved by Member States acting alone, as the
problems are of a cross-border nature, and not limited to single Member States or to a subset
of Member States. The proposed actions focus on areas where there is a demonstrable value
added in acting at Union level due to the scale, speed and scope of the efforts needed.
Providing a comprehensive response to the energy crisis affecting the EU requires a rapid and
coordinated joint action from a variety of stakeholders, and in cooperation with Member
States. Moreover, given the challenges for accelerating the deployment of net-zero
technologies, intervention at the level of the Union helps coordinate responses to address the
Union’s needs for additional manufacturing capacities for net-zero technologies and to
prevent structural dependencies. In addition, carbon capture and storage require a cross-
border, single market approach to be an effective solution for industries in all Member States,
including in those Member States with no CO2 storage capacity, and is therefore best
addressed in a coordinated way at EU level.
Action at Union level can clearly drive European actors towards a common vision and
implementation strategy. This is key to generate economies of scale and of scope and to
generate critical mass necessary for scaling up net-zero technologies manufacturing in the EU,
while limiting, fragmentation of efforts and self-harming subsidy races between Member
States.
Union action is needed in relation to the areas that this proposal addresses through its several
pillars.
– With regard to the first pillar (“Facilitating investments”), the Initiative will support
large scale technological capacity building throughout the Union to enable the
development and manufacturing net-zero technologies, to foster the set-up of net-
zero manufacturing projects, including strategic projects, by streamlining
administrative and permit-granting processes. These actions require Union action to
ensure a level playing field within the Single market.
– For reaching the target for CO2 injection capacity in the Union under the second
pillar, coordinated action is needed at Union level to support efforts at national level.
– Regarding the third pillar (“Access to market”), actions aimed at accelerating
investments in net-zero technologies can only be adequately designed and
implemented at Union level, given the scale of the investments needed and because
EN 6 EN
such manufacturing facilities can help serve the internal market, strengthen the whole
ecosystem, and contribute to guarantee security of supply.
– The fourth pillar (“Enhancing skills for quality job creation in net-zero
technologies”) coordinates efforts to ensure the availability of a skilled workforce
required for net-zero industry in Europe by supporting the setting up of specialised
skills Academies and through the establishment of a net-zero Europe platform.
– Regarding the fifth pillar (“Innovation”), the creation of regulatory sandboxes aims
at creating a level playing field for innovation on net-zero technologies in the Union,
and to ensure targeted exemptions from Union law, where necessary and without
undermining other regulatory objectives.
– Under the sixth pillar (“Governance”) the creation of a unique structure at Union
level, the Net-Zero Europe Platform, will allow to the Commission to coordinate the
above actions jointly with Member States to ensure a uniform application of the
Regulation throughout the Union, as well as knowledge sharing.
– In relation to the seventh pillar (“Monitoring”), enhanced Union cooperation will
ensure the necessary and comparable intelligence gathering. This will enable
Member States and Commission to anticipate and prevent shortages and put in place
the necessary measures to strengthen Europe’s clean energy technologies
manufacturing ecosystem in more effective ways than through a patchwork of
national measures.
• Proportionality
The proposal is designed to strengthen Europe’s net-zero technologies manufacturing
ecosystem via measures to facilitate investments, incentivise demand and up- and re-skill
Europe’s labour force.
While a wide range of net-zero technologies will benefit from the proposal, it gives more
emphasis on those parts of the net-zero technologies ecosystem that contribute most to
climate, and energy objectives for 2030. The focus on solar, batteries/storage, wind,
electrolysers and fuel cells, heat pumps, biomethane, grids and carbon capture and storage
(CCS) is intended to focus actions to strategic net-zero products and components for ensuring
Europe’s green transition.
The Net-zero strategic projects and Net-zero regulatory sandboxes put in place the
mechanisms necessary for ensuring longer-term competitiveness and innovation capacity of
European industry via manufacturing capabilities, pilot environments for testing and
experimentation, provisions on CO2 storage capacity, de-risking of investments into strategic
projects, as well as by start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs. Member States are required to ensure
permits for such manufacturing projects are granted through faster and less cumbersome
procedures, to both speed up the installation of new manufacturing capacities in response to
the Union’s energy crisis and to cut costs and administrative burden for businesses wishing to
expand their manufacturing capacities for clean energy technologies in Europe.
Furthermore, sufficient CO2 injection capacity should be made available by 2030 under pillar
2, as this lack of infrastructure is the single largest bottleneck for CO2 capture investments to
materialise, including by hard-to abate sectors. Oil and gas producers have the assets,
resources and skills to enable this capacity. In working together, they are able to find the most
cost-effective projects to provide the necessary injection capacity ahead of demand.
The incentives under pillar 3 are designed to ensure a stable demand for net-zero technologies
that will make it economically attractive for business to scale-up the production of tailor-made
EN 7 EN
net-zero technologies with a high sustainability performance. They will also ensure that the
Regulation incentivises public funds to be directed towards such technologies. It is only by a
rapid shift towards sustainable net-zero technologies that the EU will be able to fulfil its
climate ambitions for 2030.
The actions on skills for net-zero technologies in pillar 4 will allow the Union to empower its
labour force to best contribute to the clean energy transition.
The creation of regulatory sandboxes in pillar 5, is subject to appropriate safeguards to ensure
that any exemption from Union and national law is accompanied by appropriate mitigation
measures to ensure that other regulatory objectives of equal importance are fulfilled while
supporting innovation.
For the measures set out above to perform at their best, a governance structure is set up in
pillar 6, bringing together Member States and the Commission in order to coordinate their
actions to achieve their common goals for Europe’s energy security and green transition.
Finally, monitoring under pillar 7 is necessary to ensure the fulfilment of the Union-level
objective for the manufacturing of net-zero technologies and CO2 storage objectives, as well
as more generally for the application of this Regulation and information exchange by Member
States and the Union to prevent possible supply chain disruptions.
• Choice of the instrument
The proposal takes the form of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
This is the most suitable legal instrument for pillar 1 given the need for a uniform application
of the new rules, in particular the definition of the Net Zero Strategic Projects, as well as a
uniform procedure for their recognition, and supporting an industrial sector across the internal
market, while also enabling the creation of whole value chains of production by matching the
needs of market actors from the entire EU. The choice of a Regulation as a legal instrument
for pillars 2 and 3 is justified, as only a Regulation, with its directly applicable legal
provisions, can provide the necessary degree of uniformity needed for the reduction of CO2
emissions and the establishment and operation of a Union Initiative to incentivise demand
uniformly across the internal market. Pillar 4 is also best addressed through a Regulation
which supports the development of skills uniformly throughout the Union. Additionally, a
Regulation is the most suitable instrument for pillar 5 to support innovation on the internal
market, as well as for pillar 6, which creates a governance structure that allows Member
States and Commission to coordinate their actions, and for pillar 7 under which uniform
monitoring mechanisms are set out. The mechanism does not require the transposition through
national measures and is directly applicable.
3. RESULTS OF EX-POST EVALUATIONS, STAKEHOLDER
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
• Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation
This proposal brings additional harmonization and constitutes the first coherent legal
framework at EU level for clean energy technologies. It is therefore not supported by ex-post
evaluations.
• Stakeholder consultations
The Net Zero Industry Act was announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on
17 January 2023 at the World Economic Forum in Davos17. The first pillar is about speed. We
17
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_23_232
EN 8 EN
need to create a regulatory environment that allows us to scale up fast and to create conducive
conditions for sectors crucial to reaching net zero. This includes wind, heat pumps, solar,
clean hydrogen, storage and others – for which demand is boosted by our NextGenerationEU
and REPowerEU plans. To help make this happen, we will put forward a new Net-Zero
Industry Act. This will follow the same model as our Chips Act. The new Net-Zero Industry
Act will identify clear goals for European clean tech by 2030. The aim will be to focus
investment on strategic projects along the entire supply chain. We will especially look at how
to simplify and fast-track permitting for new clean-tech production sites.” Given the urgent
need to act, no impact assessment was carried out and no online public consultation was
foreseen. The analysis and all supporting evidence will be set out in a staff working document
published at the latest within three months of the proposal’s publication.
A high-level discussion and first round of consultation of Member States and net-zero
industry stakeholders took place at the first Clean Tech Europe Platform meeting, organised
by the Commission on 30 November 2022. The meeting brought together high-level
representatives from 23 Member States, along with representatives from the wind, batteries,
electricity grid, heat pumps and solar PV industries and value chain. During the meeting,
participants underlined the urgent need to ramp up manufacturing capacity of net zero
technologies in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to global
regulatory competition in the sector, such as the United States Inflation Reduction Act. The
industry representatives pointed to several bottlenecks in the Union, highlighting lengthy
permitting procedures for the construction or expansion of net zero manufacturing capacity
that would also hamper the mobilisation of private investments as well as shortages of
qualified staff.
In addition to long standing regular exchanges with relevant stakeholders, a targeted
additional survey with a short deadline was carried out in February 2023 with a selection of
industrial stakeholder organisations from the wind, solar, battery, heat pump and
hydrogen/electrolyser industries to provide additional insights. The stakeholders reported
challenges with regard to:
(1) long lead times and lengthy permitting for projects and ramping up production
capabilities;
(2) lack of level playing field with international competitors;
(3) disruption and shortages in materials;
(4) a patchwork, unclear or constraining legislative frameworks at Union and/or national
level;
(5) difficulties to find suitable production and deployment sites;
(6) barriers related to public tenders;
(7) shortage of a skilled workforce;
(8) insufficient own production and dependency on manufacturing capacities of key
components;
(9) high production costs.
Furthermore, additional input relevant for the proposal’s policy options was considered from
meetings with industry representatives and public authorities in the framework of the work
carried out in the industrial alliances launched by the European Commission, most notably the
European Batteries Alliance, the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (including its
Electrolyser Partnership), the Raw Materials Alliance and the European Solar PV Industry
EN 9 EN
Alliance. Moreover, the European Clean Energy Industrial Forum, organised in regular
meetings throughout 2021 and 2022 provided a large platform for discussion on industrial
needs. As regards carbon capture and storage, at the 2022 EU CCUS Forum, stakeholders
have estimated a demand for annual storage services in the European Economic Area (EEA)
to grow from a very low base to 80 million tonnes of CO2 in 2030 and to reach at least 300
million tonnes of CO2 in 2040.
Moreover, long-standing and regular contacts with industry stakeholders, Member States and
trade associations enabled the collection of relevant information and feedback.
• Collection and use of expertise
Long-standing and regular contacts with industry stakeholders, Member States, trade
associations and user associations enabled the collection of a fair amount of information and
feedback relevant to the proposal.
Many studies and reports have been published in the last years on the net-zero technology
manufacturing sector describing trends and providing facts and figures, and served to inform
the proposal, including:
(1) European Commission. Progress on competitiveness of clean energy technologies.
COM/2022/643 final
(2) European Commission. Annual JRC report of the European Climate Neutral Industry
Competitiveness Scoreboard (CIndECS). 2021
(3) Clean Energy Technology Observatory (CETO). Reports 2022.
(4) IEA- Energy Technology Perspectives. 2023
• Impact assessment
This proposal is not accompanied by a formal impact assessment. Considering the urgency to
act for the reasons explained above, an impact assessment could not have been delivered in
the timeframe available prior to the adoption of the proposal. The analysis and all supporting
evidence will be set out in a staff working document published at the latest within three
months of the proposal’s publication.
• Regulatory fitness and simplification
This proposal lays down measures aimed at reinforcing the net-zero technologies ecosystem.
For companies manufacturing clean energy technology in Europe, it will increase legal
certainty, facilitate the set-up of new manufacturing facilities through simplified and quicker
permitting procedures, as well as facilitate access to finance by de-risking projects and
provide for a trained labour force in the Union. For providers of net-zero technology
solutions, it will secure a stable source of demand of highly sustainable clean energy
equipment, products and components. For national public administrations, it will increase the
uptake of net-zero technologies in the Union and strengthen coordination (by introducing a
Net-Zero Europe Platform). Moreover, the framework will envisage specific measures
supporting innovation, including regulatory sandboxes and dedicated support for small-scale
users and providers of high-quality sustainable net-zero technologies to find output markets in
Europe and to match their needs with other market actors in order to create entire value chains
within the EU.
The proposal also specifically aims to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and industrial
base in net-zero technologies. Full consistency is ensured with existing sectoral Union
legislation applicable to net-zero technologies (e.g., on energy savings, energy labelling, and
EN 10 EN
deployment) that will bring further clarity and simplify the enforcement of the new rules, as
well as and with proposed legislation on critical raw materials.
• Fundamental rights
Article 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’)
provides for the freedom to conduct a business. The measures under this proposal create
innovation capacity and foster demand for clean energy technologies, which can reinforce the
freedom to conduct a business in accordance with Union law and national laws and practices.
Nevertheless, some measures under pillar 2 needed to address serious disruptions of the net-
zero technologies supply in the Union may temporarily limit the freedom to conduct a
business and the freedom of contract, protected by Article 16 and the right to property,
protected by Article 17 of the Charter. Any limitation of those rights in this proposal will, in
accordance with Article 52(1) of the Charter, be provided for by law, respect the essence of
those rights and freedoms, and comply with the principle of proportionality.
The obligation to disclose specific information to the Commission, provided that certain
conditions are met, respects the essence of and will not disproportionately affect the freedom
to conduct a business (Article 16 of the Charter). Any information request serves the objective
of general interest of the Union to enable the identification of potential mitigation measures to
an energy supply crisis. These information requests are appropriate and effective to attain the
objective by providing information necessary to assess the crisis at hand. The Commission in
principle only requests the desired information from representative organisations and may
issue requests to individual undertakings only if it is necessary in addition. Since information
on the supply situation is not available otherwise, there is not any equally effective measure to
attain the information necessary to enable European decision-makers to take mitigation
action. In light of the serious economic and societal consequences of energy supply shortages
and the respective importance of mitigation measures, information requests are proportionate
to the desired aim.
4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS
The proposal establishes a Net-Zero Europe Platform. Heading 7 of the EU budget will
support the organisation of the Net-Zero Europe Platform with a total of EUR 5.130 million
for six officials. This translates into an annual expenditure of EUR 1.026 million. The staff
will be responsible to carry out the tasks in relation to the Net-Zero Europe Platform as well
as the Net-Zero Industry Academies as set out in this Regulation. Furthermore, the proposal
estimates additional costs for committees with a budget of EUR 125.000.
The funding of the associated operational costs of this initiative will be supported by the
budget for the ‘Operation and development of the internal market of goods and services’
under the current Multiannual Financial Framework until 2027.
In order to conduct research and data analysis for monitoring the initiative and market
developments as well as to obtain up-to-date data on net-zero technology supply chains to
tackle issues related to this Regulation a budget of EUR 720.000 is allocated.
This proposal will support Net-Zero Industry Academies with seed funding in form of EUR 3
million from the budget for the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and EUR 2.5 million from
the budget of the Single Market Programme, SME pillar.
Further details are provided in the legislative financial statement annexed to this proposal.
EN 11 EN
5. OTHER ELEMENTS
• Implementation plans and monitoring, evaluation and reporting arrangements
The Commission will evaluate the output, results and impact of this proposal three years after
the date on which it becomes applicable and every four years thereafter. The main findings of
the evaluation will be presented in a report to the European Parliament and the Council, which
will be made public.
• Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal
1.1 Chapter I – Subject matter, scope and definitions
Chapter I sets out the objectives of this Regulation and its subject matter. The objectives of
the Regulation are translated into a quantified overall headline benchmark aimed at ensuring
that by 2030, the manufacturing capacity in the Union of the strategic net-zero technologies
listed in the Annex approaches or reaches at least 40% of the Union’s annual deployment
needs. This benchmark represents an overall political ambition of achieving high resilience
across strategic net-zero technologies and the overall energy system, while taking into account
the need to pursue that ambition in a flexible and diversified way. The level of this benchmark
takes into account the indicative technology-specific objectives outlined in Recital 16 of the
proposal. It does not equal to the average of the latter, given that:
(i) The scope of the Annex is broader than the five technologies for which
indicative technology-specific objectives have been identified in Recital 16;
(ii) For some strategic net-zero technologies, such as solar PV, 40% represents a
realistic but ambitious scale-up effort of the corresponding manufacturing
capacity;
(iii) The overall headline benchmark takes into account the need for scaling up
manufacturing capacity not only for end-products but also for specific
components . For some of these, such as ( wafers, ingots or solar cells in the
case of solar PV or anodes and cathodes for batteries, reaching the 40%
headline benchmark represents a realistic but highly ambitious objective).
(iv) The headline benchmark combined with the monitoring modalities laid out in
Article 31 will help identify, early on, existing or potential vulnerabilities or
challenges linked to the resilience of strategic net-zero technologies and take
action, as appropriate.
Chapter I also clarifies definitions used throughout the instrument, including the concept of
net-zero technologies. The Regulation establishes a framework, consisting of seven “pillars”,
for strengthening the competitiveness of Europe’s net-zero technology manufacturing
ecosystem. In particular, the Regulation sets the conditions necessary to promote net zero
technology manufacturing projects, streamlining administrative and permit-granting processes
and defining Net-Zero Strategic Projects (pillar 1). The Regulation sets the conditions to
increase CO2 injection capacity (pillar 2) as well as to incentivise demand for net-zero
technologies (pillar 3). It also creates a framework for ensuring a skilled labour force in the
sector (pillar 4), foster innovation (pillar 5), creates a governance structure (pillar 6) and
establishes the framework for monitoring the implementation of these measures (pillar 7).
1.2. Chapter II – Enabling conditions for net-zero technology manufacturing
Section 1 sets up streamlined permitting processes for net-zero technology manufacturing
projects. All net-zero technology manufacturing projects will benefit from Member States
designating a national competent authority acting as a single point of contact, in charge of
coordination and facilitation of permitting, guiding economic operators, ensuring that
EN 12 EN
information is publicly accessible and that all documents can be digitally submitted. The
Regulation sets detailed timelines for permitting procedures according to the nature of the
project developed. The proposal is consistent with Union legislation on permitting such as the
Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/200118, the TEN-E Regulation19, the Gas Directive20
and the Council Regulation on permitting for renewable energy deployment21, as well as with
the proposals on the REPowerEU amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive 22, the Chips
Act Regulation proposal23 and the Critical Raw Materials Act Regulation proposal. Faster
permitting procedures are without prejudice to environmental assessments and authorisations
as detailed in EU law.
Section 2 sets up rules pertaining to the selection and implementation of net-zero strategic
projects. The criteria to select strategic projects will cover the contribution made by the
project to the technological and industrial resilience of the Union’s energy system and/or the
project’s contribution to the competitiveness of the EU’s net-zero industry supply chain. The
Regulation defines the procedures for projects to apply and be recognised as net-zero strategic
project by Member States. Net-zero strategic projects will be granted priority status to ensure
the fastest permitting processes in line with national and EU laws and will benefit from
predictable permitting timelines. They may also be considered of overriding public interest for
permitting purposes provided the conditions set in EU law are fulfilled. Without prejudice to
State aid rules, Member States will undertake activities to accelerate and crowd-in private
investments in net-zero strategic projects to accelerate their implementation. Promoters of net-
zero strategic projects will also be able to benefit from financing advice stemming from the
Net-Zero Europe Platform established in Chapter VII.
1.3. Chapter III – CO2 injection capacity
Chapter III sets a Union-level objective to be achieved by 2030 for an annual injection
capacity in CO2 storage of 50Mt CO2 and includes measures to implement it. These measures
aim at bringing together key relevant assets to establish a Union single market for CO2 storage
services that large-scale CO2 emitters, including hard-to-abate industrial sectors, can rely on
to decarbonise their operations. This includes better information on geological data relating to
oil and gas production sites, CO2 capture projects in progress or envisaged in the following 5
years, estimation of the corresponding needs for injection and storage capacities. Net-zero
strategic projects for CO2 storage, that are located in the territory of the Union, aim to provide
operationally available CO2 injection capacity by 2030 or earlier and have applied for a
18
Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) (Text with EEA relevance), (OJ L 328,
21.12.2018, p. 82).
19
Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on
guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2009, (EU)
2019/942 and (EU) 2019/943 and Directives 2009/73/EC and (EU) 2019/944, and repealing Regulation
(EU) No 347/2013, (OJ L 152, 3.6.2022, p. 45).
20
Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning
common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC (Text with
EEA relevance) Text with EEA relevance, (OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 94).
21
Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 of 22 December 2022 laying down a framework to accelerate the
deployment of renewable energy, (OJ L 335, 29.12.2022, p. 36.
22
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU)
2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, Directive 2010/31/EU on the
energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, COM/2022/222 final,
18.05.2022.
23
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework of
measures for strengthening Europe's semiconductor ecosystem (Chips Act), COM/2022/46 final,
08.02.2022.
EN 13 EN
permit for the safe and permanent geological storage of CO2 in accordance with Directive
2009/31/EU24, will be supported by Member States authorities. Contributions from oil and gas
producers holding an authorisation under Directive 94/22/EC25 are foreseen to achieve the
Union-level 2030 objective.
1.4. Chapter IV – Access to markets
Chapter IV contains actions aimed at accelerating access to markets for net-zero technologies.
This is first achieved through measures designed to help public authorities create and maintain
a stable public demand for net-zero technologies that will make it economically attractive for
business to scale-up the production of tailor-made products for the European market designed
with high sustainability and resilience criteria in mind. Such measures relate first to public
procurement procedures and auctions to deploy renewable energy sources for which public
authorities must take into account criteria related to sustainability and resilience when
awarding the contracts or ranking the bids. Secondly, the chapter includes measures to ensure
that other forms of public support to private demand contribute to the same aim.
1.5 Chapter V – Enhancing skills for quality job creation in net-zero technologies
Chapter V proposes measures to ensure the availability of a skilled workforce needed for net-
zero technology industries in the Union. Current skills shortages, and their projected rise, and
skills mismatches endanger the rise of European net-zero technology industries. The proposal
aims to create mechanisms to design and deploy necessary skills in a manner that effectively
targets the needs of net-zero industries at both European and local levels. It does so by
providing for the Commission to support the setting up of specialised European skills
Academies, each focussing on a net-zero technology and working together with Member
States, industry, social partners, and education and training providers to design and deploy
education and training courses to reskill and upskill workers required for net-zero technology
industries. The Net-Zero Europe Platform would assist the availability and deployment of
people with skills needed in net-zero technologies through a series of tasks set out in this
Regulation, including with respect to the activation of more women and young people, who
are not in education, employment or training (NEETs). The Act thereby seeks to complement
a number of Commission actions aimed at meeting the skills needs stemming from the EU's
green transition, such as the EU Pact for Skills, the EU Skills Agenda, the industrial transition
pathways, and the 2023 European Year of Skills.
1.6 Chapter VI – Innovation
Chapter VI sets up Net-zero regulatory sandboxes to promote innovation in the field of net
zero technologies. The proposal introduces regulatory sandboxes to test innovative net-zero
technologies in a controlled environment for a limited amount of time. The innovative
technologies falling under the sandboxes could eventually be considered essential to achieve
the Union’s climate neutrality objective, ensure the security of supply and resilience of the
Union's energy system, and consequently enter the scope of strategic net-zero technologies
under this regulation.
1.7 Chapter VII – Governance
24
Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the
geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European
Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and
Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (Text with EEA relevance), (OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114).
25
Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions
for granting and using authorizations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons
(OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3).
EN 14 EN
Chapter VII sets up a structure, the Net-Zero Europe Platform, allowing the Commission to
coordinate the above actions jointly with Member States. The Platform is a reference body, in
which the Commission and Member States can discuss, exchange information, share best
practices on issues related to this Regulation, and in which the Commission may get input
from third parties such as experts and representatives e.g., from the net-zero industry. The
work may be organised in different standing or temporary sub-groups. Activities for the
platform are outlined in the different Articles of this Regulation, and comprise notably the
streamlining administrative procedures and permit granting processes, including one-stop
shops [Article 4], net-zero strategic projects [Article 11], coordination of financing [Article
15], access to markets [Article 19, 20 and 21], skills [Article 25] innovative net-zero
regulatory sandboxes [Article 26] and providing advice on the preparation of the annual
reports on competitiveness of clean energy technologies, under the State of the Energy Union
Report26. In addition, the Commission and Member states may discuss on Net-Zero Industrial
Partnerships within the Platform [Article 28]. Furthermore, the Commission and Member
States may get active under the Platform to foster cross-country contacts between
undertakings active in net-zero sectors within the European Union, in particular by making
use of the work of industrial alliances.
1.8 Chapter VIII – Monitoring
Chapter VIII contains uniform provisions allowing to monitor supply chains to track the
progress with respect to the objectives referred to in Article 1, as well as progress towards
reaching the CO2 storage target. It also contains monitoring provisions in general for the
application of this Regulation.
1.9 Chapter IX – Final Provisions
Chapter IX contains provisions on delegation of power, amendments to other acts, including
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council27 and Directive
(EU) 2013/34/EU28, an obligation for the Commission to prepare regular reports to the
European Parliament and to the Council for the evaluation of this Regulation, and entry into
force and application.
1.10 Annex – Strategic net-zero technologies
The technologies listed in the Annex draw on three main criteria: 1) technology readiness
level; 2) contribution to decarbonisation and competitiveness; and 3) security of supply risks.
These were selected based on the overall Net-Zero Industry Act objectives of scaling up the
manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies in the EU, particularly those that are
commercially available and have a good potential for rapid scale up.
The first criterion of technology readiness level (TRL) refers to a method of estimating the
maturity of technologies and draws on the classification used by the International Energy
26
Under the State of the Energy Union Report pursuant to Article 35, and Article 35 (2) point (m) of
Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
27
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018
establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance
and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018,
p. 1).
28
Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual
financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of
undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and
repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC Text with EEA relevance, (OJ L 182,
29.6.2013, p. 19).
EN 15 EN
Agency (IEA). The scope of this Regulation generally refers to those net-zero technologies
that fall under TRL 8 (first-of-a-kind commercial – commercial demonstration, full-scale
deployment in final form) or above.
The second criterion of decarbonisation and competitiveness identifies those net-zero
technologies that are projected to deliver a significant contribution to the 2030 Fit-for-55
target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% relative to 1990 levels.
Finally, the third criterion relates to security of supply ensuring the technological and
industrial resilience of the Union’s energy system by increasing the manufacturing capacity of
a component or part in the net-zero technology value chain for which the Union heavily or
growingly depends on imports, particularly those coming from a single third country.
Based on these criteria, 8 groups of net-zero technologies were selected. In addition, the
respective net-zero technology groups refer not only to the final technological product or
assemblies, but also to the main upstream components that are a central part of the respective
technologies (e.g., ingots, wafers, and solar cells for solar modules; nacelles, towers, and
blades for wind turbines, etc).
EN 16 EN
2023/0081 (COD)
Proposal for a
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero
technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act)
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular
Articles 114 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee29,
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions30,
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1) The Union has committed to the accelerated decarbonisation of its economy and
ambitious deployment of renewable energy sources to achieve climate neutrality or net
zero emissions (emissions after deduction of removals) by 2050. That objective is at
the heart of the European Green Deal, the updated EU Industrial Strategy, and in line
with the Union’s commitment to global climate action under the Paris Agreement31.
To reach the climate neutrality goal, Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European
Parliament and of the Council32 sets a binding Union climate target to reduce net
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. The proposed
“Fit for 55”33 package aims to deliver on the Union’s 2030 climate target and revises
and updates Union legislation in this respect.
(2) The Single Market provides the appropriate environment for enabling access at the
necessary scale and pace to the technologies required to achieve the Union’s climate
ambition. Given the complexity and the transnational character of net-zero
29
OJ C [...], [...], p. [...]
30
OJ C [...], [...], p. [...]
31
Council Decision (EU) 2016/1841 of 5 October 2016 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European
Union, of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change OJ L 282, 19.10.2016, p. 4.
32
Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing
the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU)
2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1).
33
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. 'Fit for 55': delivering the EU's
2030 Climate Target on the way to climate neutrality. COM(2021) 550, 14.7.2021.
EN 17 EN
technologies, uncoordinated national measures to ensure access to those technologies
would have a high potential of distorting competition and fragmenting the Single
market. Therefore, to safeguard the functioning of the Single market it is necessary to
create a common Union legal framework to collectively address this central challenge
by increasing the Union’s resilience and security of supply in the field of net-zero
technologies.
(3) Regarding external aspects, in particular regarding emerging markets and developing
economies, the EU will seek win-win partnerships in the framework of its Global
Gateway strategy, which contribute to the diversification of its raw materials supply
chain as well as to partner countries’ efforts to pursue twin transition and develop local
value addition.
(4) To fulfil those commitments, the Union must accelerate its pace of transition to clean
energy, notably by increasing energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy
sources. This will contribute to achieving the EU targets of the European Pillar of
Social Rights Action Plan for 2030 of an employment rate of at least 78% and
participation in training of at least 60% of adults. It will also contribute to ensuring
that the green transition is fair and equitable34.
(5) The higher energy prices after the unjustified and unlawful military aggression by the
Russian Federation against Ukraine, gave a strong impetus to accelerate the
implementation of the European Green Deal and reinforce the resilience of the Energy
Union by speeding up the clean energy transition and ending any dependence on fossil
fuels exported from the Russian Federation. The REPowerEU plan35 plays a key role
in responding to the hardships and global energy market disruption caused by the
invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. That plan aims to accelerate the energy
transition in the European Union, in order to reduce the Union’s gas and electricity
consumption and to boost investments in the deployment of energy efficient and low
carbon solutions. That plan sets inter alia the targets to double solar photovoltaic
capacity by 2025 and to install 600 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity by 2030; to
double the rate of deployment of heat pumps; to produce 10 million tonnes of
domestic renewable hydrogen by 2030; and to substantially increase production of
biomethane. The plan also sets out that achieving the REPowerEU goals will require
diversifying the supply of low carbon energy equipment and of critical raw materials,
reducing sectoral dependencies, overcoming supply chain bottlenecks and expanding
the Union’s clean energy technology manufacturing capacity. As part of its efforts to
increase the share of renewable energy in power generation, industry, buildings and
transport, the Commission proposes to increase the target in the Renewable Energy
Directive to 45% by 2030 and to increase the target in the Energy Efficiency Directive
to 13%. This would bring the total renewable energy generation capacities to 1236
GW by 2030, in comparison to 1067 GW by 2030 envisaged under the 2021 proposal
and will see increased needs for storage through batteries to deal with intermittency in
the electricity grid. Similarly, policies related to the decarbonisation of the road sector,
such as Regulation (EU) 2019/631 and Regulation (EU) 2019/1242 will be strong
34
Council Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality, adopted on 16 June
2022 as part of the Fit for 55 package.
35
Communication of 18 May 2022 from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European
Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions,
REPowerEU Plan, COM/2022/230 final, 18.05.2022.
EN 18 EN
drivers for a further electrification of the road transport sector and thus increasing
demand for batteries.
(6) The net-zero transformation is already causing huge industrial, economic, and
geopolitical shifts across the globe, which will become ever more pronounced as the
world advances in its decarbonisation efforts. The road to net zero translates into
strong opportunities for the expansion of Union’s net-zero industry, making use of the
strength of the Single Market, by promoting investment in technologies in the field of
renewable energy technologies , electricity and heat storage technologies, heat pumps,
grid technologies, renewable fuels of non-biological origin technologies, electrolysers
and fuel cells, fusion, small modular reactors and related best-in-class fuels, carbon
capture, utilisation, and storage technologies, and energy-system related energy
efficiency technologies and their supply chains, allowing for the decarbonisation of
our economic sectors, from energy supply to transport, buildings, and industry. A
strong net zero industry within the European Union can help significantly in reaching
the Union’s climate and energy targets effectively, as well as in supporting other
Green Deal objectives, while creating jobs and growth.
(7) To meet the 2030 climate and energy targets, energy efficiency needs to be prioritised.
Saving energy is the cheapest, safest and cleanest way to meet those targets. ‘Energy
efficiency first’ is an overall principle of EU energy policy and is important in both its
practical applications in policy and investment decisions. Therefore, it is essential to
expand the Union’s manufacturing capacity for energy efficient technologies, such as
heat pumps and smart grid technologies, that help the EU reduce and control its energy
consumption.
(8) The Union’s decarbonisation objectives, security of energy supply, digitalisation of the
energy system and electrification of demand, for example in mobility and the need for
fast recharging points, require an enormous expansion of electricity grids in the
European Union, both at transmission level and at distribution level. At transmission
level, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems are needed to connect offshore
renewable energies; while at distribution level, connecting electricity providers and
managing demand-side flexibility builds on investments in innovative grid
technologies, such as electric vehicles smart charging (EVSC), energy efficiency
building and industry automation and smart controls, advanced meter infrastructure
(AMI) and home energy management systems (HEMS). The electricity grid needs to
interact with many actors or devices based on a detailed level of observability, and
hence availability of data, to enable flexibility, smart charging and smart buildings
with smart electricity grids enabling demand side response from consumers and the
uptake of renewables. Connecting the net-zero technologies to the network of the
European Union requires the substantial expansion of manufacturing capabilities for
electricity grids in areas such as offshore and onshore cables, substations and
transformers.
(9) Additional policy effort is necessary to support those technologies that are
commercially available and have a good potential for rapid scale up to support the
Union’s 2030 climate targets, improve the security of supply for net-zero technologies
and their supply chains, and safeguard or strengthen the overall resilience and
competitiveness of the Union’s energy system. It includes access to a safe and
sustainable source of best in class fuels, as described in recital 8 of Commission
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1214.
EN 19 EN
(10) To achieve the 2030 objectives a particular focus is needed on some of the net-zero
technologies, also in view their significant contribution towards the path to net zero by
2050. These technologies include solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies,
onshore and offshore renewable technologies, battery/storage technologies, heat
pumps and geothermal energy technologies, electrolysers and fuel cells, sustainable
biogas/biomethane, carbon capture and storage technologies and grid technologies.
These technologies play a key role in the Union’s open strategic autonomy, ensuring
that citizens have access to clean, affordable, secure energy. Given their role, these
technologies should benefit from even faster permitting procedures, obtain the status
of the highest national significance possible under national law and benefit from
additional support to crowd-in investments.
(11) In order to ensure that the Union’s future energy system is resilient this scaling-up
should be carried out across the whole supply chain of the technologies in question, in
full complementarity with the Critical Raw Materials Act.
(12) In 2020 the European Commission adopted an EU strategy for energy system
integration. It set out a vision on how to accelerate the transition towards a more
integrated energy system, one that supports a climate neutral economy at the least cost
across sectors. It encompasses three complementary and mutually reinforcing
concepts: first, a more ‘circular’ energy system, with energy efficiency at its core;
second, a greater direct electrification of end-use sectors; third, the use of renewable
and low-carbon fuels, including hydrogen, for end-use applications where direct
heating or electrification are not feasible, not efficient or have higher costs.
Considerations related to energy system integration refer to solutions for fully
integrating all the electricity generated by renewable energy installations into the
wider energy system. This means, for instance, adopting technical solutions that allow
for the integration of surplus electricity generated by renewable electricity
installations, including through storage in its various forms and demand-side
management.
(13) The development of carbon capture and storage solutions for industry is confronted
with a coordination failure. On the one hand, despite the growing CO2 price incentive
provided by the EU Emissions Trading System, for industry to invest into capturing
CO2 emissions making such investments economically viable, they face a significant
risk of not being able to access a permitted geological storage site. On the other hand,
investors into first CO2 storage sites face upfront costs to identify develop and
appraise them even before they can apply for a regulatory storage permit.
Transparency about potential CO2 storage capacity in terms of the geological
suitability of relevant areas and existing geological data, in particular from the
exploration of hydrocarbon production sites, can support market operators to plan their
investments. Member State should make such data publicly available and report
regularly in a forward-looking perspective about progress in developing CO2 storage
sites and the corresponding needs for injection and storage capacities above, in order
to collectively reach the Union-wide target for CO2 injection capacity.
(14) A key bottleneck for carbon capture investments that are today increasingly
economically viable is the availability of operating CO2 storage sites in Europe, which
underpin the incentives from Directive 2003/87/EC. To scale up the technology and
expand its leading manufacturing capacities, the EU needs to develop a forward-
looking supply of permanent geological CO2 storage sites permitted in accordance
EN 20 EN
with Directive 2009/31/EU36. By defining a Union target of 50 million tonnes of
annual operational CO2 injection capacity by 2030, in line with the expected capacities
needed in 2030, the relevant sectors can coordinate their investments towards a
European Net-Zero CO2 transport and storage value chain that industries can use to
decarbonise their operations. This initial deployment will also support further CO2
storage in a 2050 perspective. According to the Commission’s estimates, the Union
could need to capture up to 550 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050 to meet the
net zero objective37, including for carbon removals. Such a first industrial-scale
storage capacity will de-risk investments into the capturing of CO2 emissions as
important tool to reach climate neutrality. When this regulation is incorporated into the
EEA Agreement, the Union target of 50 million tonnes of annual operational CO2
injection capacity by 2030 will be adjusted accordingly.
(15) By defining CO2 storage sites that contribute to the Union’s 2030 target as net-zero
strategic projects, the development of CO2 storage sites can be accelerated and
facilitated, and the increasing industrial demand for storage sites can be channelled
towards the most-cost-effective storage sites. An increasing volume of depleting gas
and oil fields that could be converted in safe CO2 storage sites are at the end of their
useful production lifetime. In addition, the oil and gas industry has affirmed its
determination to embark on an energy transition and possesses the assets, skills and
knowledge needed to explore and develop additional storage sites. To reach the
Union’s target of 50 million tonnes of annual operational CO2 injection capacity by
2030, the sector needs to pool its contributions to ensure that carbon capture and
storage as a climate solution is available ahead of demand. In order to ensure a timely,
Union-wide and cost-effective development of CO2 storage sites in line with the EU
objective for injection capacity, licensees of oil and gas production in the EU should
contribute to this target pro rata of their oil and gas manufacturing capacity, while
providing flexibilities to cooperate and take into account other contributions of third
parties.
(16) The Union has helped build a global economic system based on open and rules-based
trade, pushed for respecting and advancing social and environmental sustainability
standards, and is fully committed to those values.
(17) To address security of supply issues and contribute to supporting the resilience of
Union’s energy system and decarbonisation and modernisation efforts, the net-zero
technology manufacturing capacity in the Union needs to expand. Union
manufacturers of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies need to increase their
competitive edge and improve security of supply perspectives, by aiming to reach at
least 30 gigawatt of operational solar PV manufacturing capacity by 2030 across the
full PV value chain, in line with the goals set out in the European Solar Photovoltaic
Industry Alliance, which is supported under the Union’s Solar Energy Strategy.38
36
Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the
geological storage of carbon dioxide and amending Council Directive 85/337/EEC, European
Parliament and Council Directives 2000/60/EC, 2001/80/EC, 2004/35/EC, 2006/12/EC, 2008/1/EC and
Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 (Text with EEA relevance), (OJ L 140, 5.6.2009, p. 114).
37
In depth analysis in support of the Commission Communication (2018/773) A Clean Planet for all. A
European long-term strategic vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral
economy.
38
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: EU Solar Energy Strategy,
SWD(2022) 148 final, 18.05.2022.
EN 21 EN
Union manufacturers of wind and heat pump technologies need to consolidate their
competitive edge and maintain or expand their current market shares throughout this
decade, in line with the Union’s technology deployment projections that meet its 2030
energy and climate targets.39 This translates into a Union manufacturing capacity for
wind of at least 36 GW and, respectively, for heat pumps of at least 31 GW in 2030.
Union manufacturers of batteries and electrolysers need to consolidate their
technology leadership and actively contribute to shaping these markets. For battery
technologies this would mean contributing to the objectives of the European Battery
Alliance and aim at almost 90% of the Union’s battery annual demand being met by
the Union’s battery manufacturers, translating into a Union manufacturing capacity of
at least 550 GWh in 2030. For EU electrolyser manufacturers, the REPowerEU plan
projects 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen production and a further
up to 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen imports by 2030. To ensure EU’s
technological leadership translates into commercial leadership, as supported under the
Electrolyser Joint Declaration of the Commission and the European Clean Hydrogen
Alliance, EU electrolyser manufacturers should further boost their capacity, such that
the overall installed electrolyser capacity being deployed reaches at least 100 GW
hydrogen by 2030.
(18) Considering these objectives together, while also taking into account that for certain
elements of the supply chain (such as inverters, as well as solar cells, wafers, and
ingots for solar PV or cathodes and anodes for batteries) the Union manufacturing
capacity is low, the Union net-zero technologies annual capacity should aim at
approaching or reaching an overall annual manufacturing benchmark of at least 40%
of annual deployment needs by 2030 for the technologies listed in the Annex .
(19) Increasing the manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies in the European Union
will also facilitate the global supply of net-zero technologies and the transition towards
clean energy sources globally.
(20) At the same time, net-zero technology products will contribute to the Union’s
resilience and security of supply of clean energy. A secure supply of clean energy is a
prerequisite for economic development, as well as for public order and security. Net-
zero technology products will also yield benefits to other strategically important
economic sectors, such as farming and food production by securing access to clean
energy and machinery at competitive prices, thus contributing sustainably to EU food
security and to providing an increasing outlet for bio-based alternatives through
circular economy. In the same way, the fulfilment of the Union’s climate ambitions
will translate both into economic growth and social well-being.
(21) In order to maintain competitiveness and reduce current strategic import dependencies
in key net-zero technology products and their supply chains, while avoiding the
formation of new ones, the Union needs to continue strengthening its net zero
industrial base and become more competitive and innovation friendly. The Union
needs to enable the development of manufacturing capacity faster, simpler and in a
more predictable way.
39
As per REPowerEU objectives set out in the REPowerEU Plan, COM/2022/230 final, and
accompanying Commission Staff Working Document Implementing the Repower EU Action Plan:
Investment Needs, Hydrogen Accelerator and achieving the Bio-Methane Targets Accompanying the
Document : Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council,
the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions
REPowerEU Plan, SWD/2022/230 final, 18.05.2022
EN 22 EN
(22) Member States should submit updated drafts of their 2021-2030 National Energy and
Climate Plans (NECPs) in June 202340. As emphasised in the Commission’s Guidance
to Member States for the update of the 2021-2030 national energy and climate plans41,
the updated plans should describe Member States’ objectives and policies to facilitate
the scale-up of manufacturing projects of commercially available energy efficient and
low-carbon technologies, equipment and key components within their territory. Those
plans should also describe Member States’ objectives and policies to achieve such
scale-up through diversification efforts in third countries, and to enable their industries
to capture and store CO2 emissions permanently in geological storage sites.
(23) In addition, the Communication on the Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero
Age42 sets out a comprehensive approach to support a clean energy technology scale
up based on four pillars. The first pillar aims at creating a regulatory environment that
simplifies and fast-tracks permitting for new net-zero technology manufacturing and
assembly sites and facilitates the scaling up of the net-zero industry of the Union. The
second pillar of the plan is to boost investment in and financing of net-zero technology
production, through the revised Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework adopted
in March 2023 and the creation of a European Sovereignty fund to preserve the
European edge on critical and emerging technologies relevant to the green and digital
transitions. The third pillar relates to developing the skills needed to make the
transition happen and increase the number of skilled workers in the clean energy
technology sector. The fourth pillar focuses on trade and the diversification of the
supply chain of critical raw materials. That includes creating a critical raw materials
club, working with like-minded partners to collectively strengthen supply chains and
diversifying away from single suppliers for critical input.
(24) Under the first pillar, the Union should develop and maintain an industrial basis for the
provision of net-zero technology solutions to secure its energy supply, while also
living up to its ambitions on climate neutrality. To support that goal and to avoid
dependencies for the supply of net-zero technologies that would delay the Union’s
greenhouse gas emission reductions efforts or put at risk the security of supply of
energy, this Regulation shall set out provisions to encourage demand for sustainable
and resilient net-zero technologies.
(25) Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU already allow contracting
authorities and entities awarding contracts through public procurement procedures to
rely, in addition to price or cost, on additional criteria for identifying the most
economically advantageous tender. Such criteria concern for instance the quality of the
tender including social, environmental and innovative characteristics. When awarding
contracts for net-zero technology through public procurement, contracting authorities
and contracting entities should duly assess the tenders’ contribution to sustainability
and resilience in relation to a series of criteria relating to the tender’s environmental
sustainability, innovation, system integration and to resilience.
40
Member States shall update their national plans for 2021-2030 by June 2023 (draft plans) and June
2024 (final plans). See Article 14 and requirements of Chapter 2 and Annex I of the Regulation (EU)
2018/1999.
41
Commission Notice on the Guidance to Member States for the update of the 2021-2030 national energy
and climate plans 2022/C 495/02, (OJ C 495, 29.12.2022, p. 24).
42
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council,
the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A Green Deal
Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age, COM/2023/62 final, 01.02.2023.
EN 23 EN
(26) Social sustainability criteria can already be applied under existing legislation and can
include working conditions and collective bargaining in line with the European Pillar
of Social Rights in line with Articles, 30 (3) of Directive 2014/23/EU, 18 (2) of
Directive 2014/24/EU and 36 (2) of Directive 2014/25/EU. Contracting authorities
should contribute to social sustainability by taking the appropriate measures to ensure
that in the performance of public contracts economic operators comply with applicable
obligations in the fields of social and labour law established by Union law, national
law, collective agreements or by the international environmental, social and labour law
provisions listed in Annex X of Directive 2014/23/EU, Annex X of Directive
2014/24/EU and Annex XIV of Directive 2014/25/EU43.
(27) Without prejudice to Union legislation applicable to a specific technology, including
under the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products44
and the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council
concerning batteries and waste batteries45, and unless otherwise indicated therein,
when evaluating the environmental sustainability of the net-zero solutions procured on
the basis of this Regulation, contracting authorities and contracting entities may take
into account various elements with an impact on the climate and the environment.
These may include, for instance, the durability and reliability of the solution; the ease
of repair and maintenance; the ease of upgrading and refurbishment; the ease and
quality of recycling; the use of substances; the consumption of energy, water and other
resources in one or more life cycle stages of the product; the weight and volume of the
product and its packaging; the incorporation of used components; the quantity,
characteristics and availability of consumables needed for proper use and
maintenance; the environmental footprint of the product and its life cycle
environmental impacts; the carbon footprint of the product; the microplastic release;
emissions to air, water or soil released in one or more life cycle stages of the product;
the amounts of waste generated; the conditions for use.
(28) For the purposes of taking into account within a public procurement procedure of the
need to diversify sources of supply of net-zero technologies away from single sources
of supply within the meaning of Article 19 (2), and without prejudice to the Union’s
international commitments, the supply should at least be deemed insufficiently
diversified where a single source supplies for more than 65% of the demand for a
specific net-zero technology within the Union.
(29) For the purposes of setting up schemes benefitting households or consumers which
incentivise the purchase of net-zero technology final products, and without prejudice
to the Union’s international commitments, the supply should be deemed insufficiently
diversified where a single source supplies more than 65% of the total demand for a
specific net-zero technology within the Union. To ensure a consistent application, the
Commission should publish a yearly list starting on the date of application of this
Regulation, of the distribution of the origin of net zero technology final products
43
Commission Notice "Buying Social - a guide to taking account of social considerations in public
procurement (2nd edition)", C(2021) 3573 final.
44
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for
setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC,
COM/2022/142 final, 30.03.2022.
45
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning batteries and waste
batteries, repealing Directive 2006/66/EC and amending Regulation (EU) No 2019/1020,
COM/2020/798 final, 10.12.2020.
EN 24 EN
which fall under this category, broken down by the share of Union supply originating
in different sources in the last year for which data is available.
(30) Council Decision 2014/115/EU approved in particular the amendment to the World
Trade Organisation Agreement on Government Procurement (the ‘GPA’) 46. The aim
of the GPA is to establish a multilateral framework of balanced rights and obligations
relating to public contracts with a view to achieving the liberalisation and expansion of
world trade. For contracts covered by the European Union’s Appendix I to the GPA,
as well as by other relevant international agreements by which the Union is bound,
including free trade agreements and the Article III:8(a) of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade of 1994 for procurement by governmental agencies of products
purchased with a view to commercial resale or with a view to use in the production of
goods for commercial sale, contracting authorities and contracting entities should not
apply the requirements of Article 19 (1) point (d) to economic operators of sources of
supply that are signatories to the agreements.
(31) The application of the provisions on resilience in public procurement procedures set
out in Article 19 should be without prejudice to the application of Article 25 of
Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council47, and Articles
43 and 85 of Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council48,
as according with the Commission’s guidance of 201949. The same way, public
procurement provisions should continue to apply to works, supplies and services
subject to Article 19, including article 67 (4) of Directive 2014/24/EU and any
implementing measures resulting from the Proposal for a Regulation establishing a
framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products.
(32) The weighting of criteria on the sustainability and resilience contribution of the tender
in relation to public procurement procedures is without prejudice to the possibility for
contracting authorities and contracting entities to set a higher threshold for the criteria
relating to environmental sustainability and innovation, in line with Article 41 (3) and
Recital 64 of Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 50,
Article 67 (5) of Directive 2014/24/EU and Article 82 (5) of Directive 2014/25/EU.
(33) In order to limit administrative burden resulting from the need to take into account
criteria relating to the sustainability and resilience contribution of the tender, in
particular for smaller public buyers and for contracts of lower value which do not have
an important impact on the market, the application of the relevant provisions of this
Regulation should be deferred for two years for public buyers which are not central
purchasing bodies and for contracts of a value below EUR 25 million.
(34) For the purposes of the application of the provisions on public procurement according
to Article 19, where a product is covered by a delegated act adopted under Regulation
46
Council decision 2014/115/EU of 2 December 2013 on the conclusion of the Protocol Amending the
Agreement on Government Procurement, (OJ L68, 7.3.2014, p. 1).
47
Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public
procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65).
48
Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on
procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and
repealing Directive 2004/17/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 243).
49
Communication from the Commission: Guidance on the participation of third country bidders and
goods in the EU procurement market, Brussels, 24.7.2019, C(2019) 5494 final.
50
Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award
of concession contracts (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 1).
EN 25 EN
(EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council51, contracting
authorities or contracting entities should purchase only the products that comply with
the obligation laid down in Article 7 (2) of that Regulation.
(35) Households and final consumers are an essential part of the Union’s demand for net-
zero technologies final products and public support schemes to incentivize the
purchase of such product by households, in particular for vulnerable low- and lower
middle-class income households and consumers, are important tools to accelerate the
green transition. Under the solar rooftop initiative announced in the EU solar
strategy52, Member States should for instance set-up national programmes to support
the massive deployment of rooftop solar energy. In the REPowerEU plan, the
Commission called Member States to make full use of supporting measures which
encourage switching to heat pumps. Such support schemes set up nationally by
Member States or locally by local or regional authorities should also contribute to
improving the sustainability and resilience of the EU net-zero technologies. Public
authorities should for instance provide higher financial compensation to beneficiaries
for the purchase of net-zero technology final products that will make a higher
contribution to resilience in the Union. Public authorities should ensure that their
schemes are open, transparent and non-discriminatory, so that they contribute to
increase demand for net-zero technology products in the Union. Public authorities
should also limit the additional financial compensation for such products so as not to
slow down the deployment of the net-zero technologies in the Union. To increase the
efficiency of such schemes Member States should ensure that information is easily
accessible both for consumers and for net-zero technology manufacturers on a free
website. The use by public authorities of the sustainability and resilience contribution
in schemes targeted at consumers or households should be without prejudice to State
aid rules and to WTO rules on Subsidies.
(36) When designing schemes benefitting households or consumers which incentivise the
purchase of net-zero technology final products listed in the Annex, Member States,
regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law or associations formed by
one or more such authorities or one or more such bodies governed by public law,
should ensure the respect of the Union’s international commitments, including by
ensuring that schemes do not reach a magnitude that causes serious prejudice to the
interest of WTO members.
(37) The Commission should also assist Member States in the design of schemes targeted
at households and consumers to build synergies and exchange best practices. The Net-
Zero Europe Platform should also play an important role in accelerating the
implementation of the sustainability and resilience contribution by Member States and
public authorities in their public procurement and auctioning practices. It should issue
guidance and identify best practices on how to define the contribution and use it,
providing concrete and specific examples.
(38) To enable the industry to adjust its production on time, contracting authorities and
contracting entities should inform the market in advance of their estimated
procurement needs for net-zero technology products.
51
Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2017 setting a
framework for energy labelling and repealing Directive 2010/30/EU (OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 1).
52
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions : EU Solar Energy Strategy,
COM(2022) 221 final, 18.05.2022.
EN 26 EN
(39) As indicated in the Communication on the Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero
Age, published on 1 February 2023, the Union’s industry’s market shares are under
strong pressure, due to subsidies in third countries which undermine a level playing
field. This translates in a need for a rapid and ambitious reaction from the Union in
modernising its legal framework.
(40) Access to finance is key for ensuring the Union’s open strategic autonomy and for
establishing a solid manufacturing base for net-zero technologies and their supply
chains across the Union. The majority of investments necessary to reach the Green
Deal objectives will come from private capital53 attracted by the growth potential of
the net-zero ecosystem. Well-functioning, deep and integrated capital markets will
therefore be essential to raise and channel the funds needed for the green transition and
net-zero manufacturing projects. Swift progress towards the Capital Markets Union is
thus necessary for the EU to deliver on its net-zero objectives. The sustainable finance
agenda (and blended finance) also plays a crucial role in scaling up investments into
the net-zero technologies, while guaranteeing the competitiveness of the sector.
(41) Where private investment alone is not sufficient, the effective roll-out of net-zero
manufacturing projects may require public support in the form of State aid. Such aid
must have an incentive effect and be necessary, appropriate and proportionate. The
existing State aid guidelines that have recently undergone an in-depth revision in line
with the twin transition objectives provide ample possibilities to support investments
for projects in the scope of this Regulation subject to certain conditions. Member
States can have an important role in easing access to finance for net-zero technologies
manufacturing projects by addressing market failures through targeted State aid
support. The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) adopted on 9
March 2023 aims at ensuring a level playing field within the internal market, targeted
to those sectors where a third-country delocalisation risk has been identified, and
proportionate in terms of aid amounts. It would enable Member States to put in place
measures to support new investments in production facilities in defined, strategic net-
zero sectors, including via tax benefits. The permitted aid amount can be modulated
with higher aid intensities and aid amount ceilings if the investment is located in
assisted areas, in order to contribute to the goal of convergence between Member
States and regions. Appropriate conditions are required to verify the concrete risks of
diversion of the investment outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and that there
is no risk of relocation within the EEA. To mobilise national resources for that
purpose, Member States may use a share of the ETS revenues that Member States
have to allocate for climate-related purposes.
(42) Several Union funding programmes, such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility,
InvestEU, cohesion policy programmes or the Innovation Fund are also available to
fund investments in net-zero technology manufacturing projects.
53
Commission Staff Working Document Identifying Europe's recovery needs Accompanying the
document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Europe's moment:
Repair and Prepare for the Next Generation, SWD(2020) 98 final, Identifying Europe's recovery needs,
27.05.2020.
EN 27 EN
(43) The amended Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation54 made available an
additional EUR 20 billion of non-repayable support to Member States in order to
promote energy efficiency and replace fossil fuels, amongst others through EU net-
zero industry projects. As pointed out in the Commission Guidance on the
REPowerEU chapters55, Member States are encouraged to include in the REPowerEU
chapter of their recovery and resilience plans, measures supporting investments in net-
zero technologies manufacturing and industrial innovation, in accordance with
Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council56.
(44) InvestEU is the EU flagship programme to boost investment, especially the green and
digital transition, by providing financing and technical assistance, for instance through
blending mechanisms. Such approach contributes to crowd in additional public and
private capital. In addition, Member States are encouraged to contribute to the
InvestEU Member State compartment to support financial products available to net-
zero technology manufacturing, without prejudice to applicable State aid rules.
(45) Member States can provide support from cohesion policy programmes in line with
applicable rules under Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of
the Council57 to encourage the take up of net-zero strategic projects in less developed
and transition regions through investment packages of infrastructure, productive
investment in innovation, manufacturing capacity in SMEs, services, training and
upskilling measure, including support to capacity building of the public authorities and
promoters. The applicable co-financing rates set in programmes may be up to 85% for
less developed regions and up to 60% or 70% for transition regions depending on the
fund concerned and the status of the region but Member States may exceed these
ceilings at the level of the project concerned, where feasible under State aid rules. The
Technical Support Instrument can help Member States and regions in preparing net-
zero growth strategies, improve the business environment, reducing red tape and
accelerating permitting. Member States should be encouraged to promote the
sustainability of net-zero strategic projects by embedding these investments in
European value chains, building notably on interregional and cross border cooperation
networks.
(46) The Innovation Fund also provides a very promising and cost efficient avenue to
support the scaling up of manufacturing and deployment of renewable hydrogen and
other strategic net zero technologies in Europe, thus reinforcing Europe’s sovereignty
in key technologies for climate action and energy security.
54
Regulation (EU) 2023/435 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 February 2023
amending Regulation (EU) 2021/241 as regards REPowerEU chapters in recovery and resilience plans
and amending Regulations (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) 2021/1060 and (EU) 2021/1755, and Directive
2003/87/EC, (OJ L 63, 28.2.2023, p. 1).
55
Commission Notice Guidance on Recovery and Resilience Plans in the context of REPowerEU 2023/C
80/01, (OJ C 80, 3.3.2023, p. 1).
56
Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021
establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17).
57
Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying
down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund
Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and
Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the
Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa
Policy (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159).
EN 28 EN
(47) A European Sovereignty Fund would provide a structural answer to the investment
needs. It will help preserving a European edge on critical and emerging technologies
relevant to the green and digital transitions, including net-zero technologies. This
structural instrument will build on experience of coordinated multi-country projects
under the IPCEIs and seek to enhance all Member States’ access to such projects,
thereby safeguarding cohesion and the Single Market against risks caused by unequal
availability of State Aids.
(48) To overcome the limitations of the current fragmented public and private investments
efforts, facilitate integration and return on investment, the Commission, and Member
States should better coordinate and create synergies between the existing funding
programmes at Union and national level as well as ensure better coordination and
collaboration with industry and key private sector stakeholders. The Net-Zero Europe
Platform has a key role to play to build a comprehensive view of available and
relevant funding opportunities and to discuss the individual financing needs of net-
zero strategic projects.
(49) In order for net-zero technology manufacturing projects to be deployed or expanded as
quickly as possible to ensure the Union’s security of supply for net-zero technologies,
it is important to create planning and investment certainty by keeping the
administrative burden on project promoters to a minimum. For that reason, permit-
granting processes of the Member States for net zero technology manufacturing
projects should be streamlined, whilst at the same time ensuring that such projects are
safe, secure, environmentally performant, and comply with environmental, social and
safety requirements. Union environmental legislation sets common conditions for
the process and content of national permit-granting processes, thereby ensuring a high
level of environmental protection. Being granted the status of Net-Zero Strategic
Project should be without prejudice to any applicable permitting conditions for the
relevant projects, including those set out in Directive 2011/92/EU of the European
Parliament and of the Council58, Council Directive 92/43/EEC59, Directive
2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council60, Directive 2004/35/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council61, and Directive (EU) 2010/75 of the
European Parliament and of the Council62.
(50) At the same time, the unpredictability, complexity and at times, excessive length of
national permit-granting processes undermines the investment security needed for
the effective development of net-zero technologies manufacturing projects. Therefore,
in order to ensure and speed up their effective implementation, Member States should
apply streamlined and predictable permitting procedures. In addition, Net-Zero
Strategic Projects should be given priority status at national level to ensure rapid
58
Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the
assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 26, 28.1.2012,
p. 1).
59
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna
and flora (OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7).
60
Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a
framework for Community action in the field of water policy (OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1).
61
Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on
environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage (OJ
L 143, 30.4.2004, p. 56).
62
Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on
industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (recast) (OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17).
EN 29 EN
administrative treatment and urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute resolution
procedures relating to them, without preventing competent authorities to streamline
permitting for other net-zero technologies manufacturing projects that are not Net-
Zero Strategic Projects or more generally.
(51) Given their role in ensuring the Union’s security of supply for net-zero technologies,
and their contribution to the Union’s open strategic autonomy and the green and
digital transition, responsible permitting authorities should consider Net-Zero Strategic
Projects to be in the public interest. Based on its case-by-case assessment, a
responsible permitting authority may conclude that the public interest served by the
project overrides the public interests related to nature and environmental protection
and that consequently the project may be authorised, provided that all relevant
conditions set out in Directive 2000/60/EC, Directive 92/43/EEC and Directive
2009/147/EC63 are met.
(52) In order to reduce complexity and increase efficiency and transparency, project
promoters of net-zero technologies manufacturing projects should be able to interact
with a single national authority responsible for coordinating the entire permit granting
process and issuing a comprehensive decision within the applicable time limit. To that
end, Member States should designate a single national competent authority.
Depending on a Member State’s internal organisation, it should be possible for the
tasks of the national competent authority s to be delegated to a different authority,
subject to the same conditions. To ensure the effective implementation of their
responsibilities, Member States should provide their national competent authority, or
any authority acting on their behalf, with sufficient personnel and resources.
(53) In order to ensure clarity about the permitting status of Net-Zero Strategic Projects and
to limit the effectiveness of potential abusive litigation, while not undermining
effective judicial review, Member States should ensure that any
dispute concerning permit granting process is resolved in a timely manner. To that
end, national competent authorities should ensure that applicants and project
promoters have access to a simple dispute settlement procedure and that Net-Zero
Strategic Projects are granted urgent treatment in all judicial and dispute resolution
procedures relating to them while ensuring respect for the rights of defence.
(54) In order to allow businesses and project promoters, including for cross-border projects,
to directly enjoy the benefits of the internal market without incurring an unnecessary
additional administrative burden, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European
Parliament and the Council64 provides for general rules for the online provision of
procedures relevant for the functioning of the internal market. The information that
needs to be submitted to national competent authorities as part of the permit-granting
processes covered by this Regulation are to be covered in Annex I of Regulation (EU)
2018/1724 following its amendment by this Regulation, and the related procedures are
included in its Annex II so as to ensure that project promoters can benefit from fully
online procedures and the Once-Only Technical System. National competent
authorities acting as one stop shop pursuant to this Regulation are included in the list
63
Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the
conservation of wild birds (OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7–25).
64
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 October 2018
establishing a single digital gateway to provide access to information, to procedures and to assistance
and problem-solving services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018,
p. 1).
EN 30 EN
of assistance and problem-solving services in Annex III of Regulation (EU)
2018/1724.
(55) Net-zero technology manufacturing projects undergo lengthy and complex permitting
procedures of 2-7 years, depending on the Member State, technology and value chain
segment. Considering the size of required investments – in particular for gigafactory-
size projects which are needed to reach the expected economies of scale – inadequate
permitting creates an additional and often detrimental barrier to increase net-zero
technology manufacturing capacity in the Union. In order to provide project promoters
and other investors with the security and clarity needed to increase development of
net-zero technologies manufacturing projects, Member States should ensure that the
permit-granting process related to such projects does not exceed pre-set time limits.
For Net Zero Strategic Projects the length of the permit-granting process should not
exceed twelve months for facilities with a yearly production output of more than 1
GW, and 9 months for those with a yearly production output of less than 1 GW. For all
other net-zero technology manufacturing projects, the length of the permit-granting
process should not exceed eighteen months for facilities with a yearly production
output of more than 1 GW, and twelve months for those with a yearly production
output of less than 1 GW. For net-zero technologies for which the GW metric is not
relevant, such as grids and carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and
usage (CCU) technologies, the upper limits of the aforementioned deadlines should
apply. For the expansion of existing production lines, each of the aforementioned time
limits should be halved.
(56) In addition, given the importance of Net Zero Strategic Projects for the Union’s energy
supply certain administrative restrictions should be partly lifted or simplified to speed
up their implementation.
(57) The environmental assessments and authorisations required under Union law,
including in relation to water, air, ecosystems, habitats, biodiversity and birds, are an
integral part of the permit granting procedure for a net zero technologies
manufacturing project and an essential safeguard to ensure negative environmental
impacts are prevented or minimised. However, to ensure that permit granting
procedures for net zero technologies manufacturing projects are predictable and
timely, any potential to streamline the required assessments and authorisations while
not lowering the level of environmental protection should be realised. In that regard, it
should be ensured that the necessary assessments are bundled to prevent unnecessary
overlap and it should be ensured that project promoters and responsible authorities
explicitly agree on the scope of the bundled assessment before the assessment is
carried out to prevent unnecessary follow-up.
(58) Land use conflicts can create barriers to the deployment of net zero technologies
manufacturing projects. Well-designed plans, including spatial plans and zoning, that
take into account the potential for implementing net-zero technologies manufacturing
projects and whose potential environmental impacts are assessed, have the potential to
help balance public goods and interests, decreasing the potential for conflict and
accelerating the sustainable deployment of net-zero technologies manufacturing
projects in the Union. Responsible national, regional and local authorities should
therefore consider the inclusion of provisions for net-zero technologies manufacturing
projects when developing relevant plans.
(59) Space data and services derived from EU Space Programme, and in particular
Copernicus, shall be used to the extent possible to provide information on the geology,
EN 31 EN
biology, ecology, socio-economic development, and resource availability for the
environmental assessments and authorisations; such data and services and in particular
the Copernicus anthropogenic CO2 emission monitoring and verification capacity are
most relevant to assess the impact of industry projects and the impact of anthropogenic
CO2 sinks on the global greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes.
(60) The Commission should, as provided in Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No
1025/2012, request one or more European standardisation organisation to draft
European standards in support of the objectives of this Regulation.
(61) Hydrogen Valleys with industrial end-use applications play an important role in
decarbonising the energy-intensive industries. REPowerEU set the objective of
doubling the number of Hydrogen Valleys in the Union. In order to achieve this
objective, Member States should accelerate permitting and consider regulatory
sandboxes and prioritise access to funding. To strengthen the net zero resilience,
Member States should ensure the interconnection of Hydrogen Valleys across the
Union’s borders. Industrial installations which produce their own energy, and which
can provide a positive contribution to the production of electricity, should be
encouraged to contribute to the smart electricity grid as energy producers by
simplifying regulatory requirements.
(62) Net-zero regulatory sandboxes can be an important tool to promote innovation in the
field of net-zero technologies and regulatory learning. Innovation needs to be enabled
through experimentation spaces as scientific outcomes need to be tested in a controlled
real-word environment. Regulatory sandboxes should be introduced to test innovative
net-zero technologies in a controlled environment for a limited amount of time It is
appropriate to strike a balance between legal certainty for participants in the Net-Zero
regulatory sandboxes and the achievement of the objectives of Union law. As Net-
Zero regulatory sandboxes must in any case comply with the essential requirements on
Net-Zero technology laid out in Union and national law, it is appropriate to provide
that participants , who comply with the eligibility requirements for Net-Zero
regulatory sandboxes and who follow, in good faith, the guidance provided by the
competent authorities and the terms and conditions of the plan agreed with those
authorities, are not subject to any administrative fines or penalties. This is justified as
the safeguards in place will, in principle, ensure effective compliance with Union or
Member State law on the Net-Zero technology supervised in the regulatory sandboxes.
The Commission will publish a Guidance for Sandboxes document in 2023 as
announced in the New European Innovation Agenda to support Member States in
preparing the net zero technology sandboxes. Those innovative technologies could
eventually be essential to achieve the Union’s climate neutrality objective, ensure the
security of supply and resilience of the Union’s energy system, and consequently enter
the scope of strategic net-zero technologies.
(63) An overall benchmark and indicative objectives for the manufacturing of key net-zero
technology products in the European Union are put forward in order to help tackle
import dependency and vulnerability concerns and ensure the Union’s climate and
energy targets are met.
(64) The scaling up of European net-zero technology industries requires significant
additional skilled workers which implies important investment needs in re-skilling and
upskilling, including in the field of vocational education and training. This should
contribute to the creation of quality jobs in line with the targets for employment and
training of the European Pillar of Social Rights. The energy transition will require a
EN 32 EN
significant increase in the number of skilled workers in a range of sectors, including
renewable energy and energy storage, and has a great potential for quality job creation.
The skill needs for the fuel cell hydrogen sub-sector in manufacturing alone are
estimated at 180.000 trained workers, technicians and engineers by the year 2030,
according to the Commission’s European Strategic Energy Technology Plan65. In the
photo-voltaic solar energy sector, up to 66.000 jobs would be needed in manufacturing
alone. The European network of employment services (EURES) is providing
information, advice and recruitment or placement for the benefit of workers and
employers, including across internal market borders.
(65) Since strengthening the manufacturing capacity of key net-zero technologies in the
Union will not be possible without a sizeable skilled workforce, it is necessary to
introduce measures to boost the activation of more people to the labour market,
notably women and young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs),
including via skills first approaches as a complement to qualifications-based
recruitment. In addition, in line with the objectives of the Council Recommendation on
ensuring a fair transition towards climate-neutrality, specific support for job-to-job
transition for workers in redundant and declining sectors are important. This means
investing in skills and in quality job creation required for net-zero technologies in the
Union. Building on and fully taking into account existing initiatives such as the EU
Pact for Skills, EU level activities on skills intelligence and forecasting, such as by the
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and the
European Labour Authority, and the Blueprints for sectoral cooperation on skills, the
objective is to mobilise all actors: Member States authorities, including at regional and
local levels, education and training providers, social partners and industry, in
particular SMEs, to identify skills needs, develop education and training programmes
and deploy these at large scale in a fast and operational manner. Net-zero strategic
projects have a key role to play in this regard. Member States and the Commission
may ensure financial support including by leveraging the possibilities of the Union
budget through instruments such as the European Social Fund Plus, Just Transition
Fund, European Regional Development Funds, the Recovery and Resilience Facility,
the Modernisation Fund, REPowerEU and the Single Market Programme.
(66) Building on previous experiences, such as the EU Pact for Skills and the European
Battery Alliance, European Net-Zero Industry Academies should develop and deploy
education and training content to upskill and reskill workers required for key net-zero
technology value chains, such as solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies,
renewable hydrogen technologies and raw materials. The academies would aim to
enable the training and education of 100.000 learners each, within three years of their
establishment, to contribute to the availability of skills required for the net-zero
technologies, including in small and medium-sized enterprises. That content should be
developed and deployed with education and training providers in Member States,
relevant Member States authorities and social partners. Education and training
providers, industry and other actors involved in up- and reskilling in the Member
States, such as Public Employment Services, should deliver the content produced by
the academies. To ensure skills transparency and portability and the mobility of
workers, the European Net-Zero Industry Academies will develop and deploy
65
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Joint Research Centre, The
strategic energy technology (SET) plan, Publications Office, 2019,
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/04888.
EN 33 EN
credentials, including micro-credentials, covering learning achievements. They should
be issued in the format of European credentials for learning and could be integrated in
EUROPASS and, where relevant, included in National Qualifications Frameworks.
Member States are encouraged to support the continuous reskilling and upskilling
offered via the academies and the relevant education and training providers in their
territories through national programmes and Union funding, including from the
European Social Fund Plus, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the European
Regional Development Fund, the Just Transition Mechanism, the Modernisation Fund
and the Technical Support Instrument. The Net-Zero Europe Platform should assist in
guiding the work of the Academies and providing oversight.
(67) While in the absence of specific provisions introducing minimum training
requirements for the access to a regulated profession or the pursuit thereof laid down
in the Union law, it is a Member State’s competence to decide whether and how to
regulate a profession, national rules organizing access to regulated professions must
not constitute an unjustified or disproportionate obstacle to the exercise of those
fundamental rights. The competence to regulate access to a profession must be
exercised within the limits of the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality,
in accordance with Directive (EU) 2018/958 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 28 June 2018 on a proportionality test before adoption of new regulation of
professions. In their assessment Member States should take into account any
detrimental effects that regulation or professions may have on the availability of skills
in the Net-Zero Industry and seek to limit the regulation in these fields to the
maximum extent possible.
(68) Where the learning programmes developed by the European net-zero industry
academies lead to credentials that would be of assistance to persons seeking access to
a profession that is regulated, Member States should, in order to facilitate the mobility
in strategic net-zero industry professions, accept these credentials as sufficient proof of
the knowledge, skills and competences to which they attest.
(69) At Union level, a Net-Zero Europe Platform, should be established, composed of the
Member States and chaired by the Commission. The Net-Zero Europe Platform may
advise and assist the Commission and Member States on specific questions and
provide a reference body, in which the Commission and Member States coordinate
their action and facilitate the exchange of information on issues relating to this
Regulation. The Net-Zero Europe Platform should further perform the tasks outlined
in the different Articles of this Regulation, notably in relation to permitting, including
one-stop shops, Net-Zero Strategic Projects, coordination of financing, access to
markets and skills as well as innovative net-zero technologies regulatory sandboxes.
Where necessary, the Platform may establish standing or temporary subgroups and
invite third parties, such as experts or representatives from net-zero industries.
(70) As part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan the Commission announced its intention to
conclude Net-Zero Industrial Partnerships covering net-zero technologies, to adopt
net-zero technologies globally and to support the role of EU industrial capabilities in
paving the way for the global clean energy transition. The Commission and Member
States may coordinate within the Platform the Partnerships, discussing existing
relevant partnerships and processes, such as green partnerships, energy dialogues and
other forms of existing bilateral contractual arrangements, as well as potential
synergies with relevant Member States’ bilateral agreements with third countries.
EN 34 EN
(71) The Union should aim to diversify international trade and investments in net-zero
technologies and to promote globally high social and environmental standards should
be done in close cooperation and partnership with like-minded countries. Similarly,
stronger research and innovation efforts to develop and deploy net-zero technologies
should be pursued in close cooperation with partner countries in an open but assertive
approach.
(72) Where the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty is
delegated to the Commission under this Regulation, it is of particular importance that
the Commission carries out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work,
including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with
the principles laid down in the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making of
13 April 2016. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of
delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the
same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to
meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(73) To the extent that any of the measures envisaged by the present Regulation constitute
State aid, the provisions concerning such measures are without prejudice to the
application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty.
(74) Since the objective of this Regulation cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member
States and can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the action, be better achieved
at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of
subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of
proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is
necessary in order to achieve that objective.
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Chapter I
Subject matter, scope and definitions
Article 1
Subject matter
1. This Regulation establishes the framework of measures for innovating and scaling up
the manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies in the Union to support the
Union’s 2030 target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 %
relative to 1990 levels and the Union’s 2050 climate neutrality target, as defined by
Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, and to ensure the Union’s access to a secure and
sustainable supply of net-zero technologies needed to safeguard the resilience of the
Union’s energy system and to contribute to the creation of quality jobs.
2. To achieve the general objective referred to in paragraph 1, this Regulation contains
measures with a view to ensuring:
a) that by 2030, manufacturing capacity in the Union of the strategic net-zero
technologies listed in the Annex approaches or reaches a benchmark of at least
40% of the Union’s annual deployment needs for the corresponding
technologies necessary to achieve the Union’s 2030 climate and energy targets;
b) the free movement of net zero technologies placed on the Single market.
EN 35 EN
3. Where, based on the report referred to in Article 35, the Commission concludes that
the Union is likely not to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 1, it shall assess
the feasibility and proportionality of proposing measures or exercising its powers at
Union level in order to ensure the achievement of those objectives.
Article 2
Scope
This Regulation applies to net-zero technologies, except for Articles 26 and 27 of this
Regulation, which apply to innovative net-zero technologies. Raw materials processed
materials or components falling under the scope of Regulation (EU) …/… [add footnote with
publication references of the Critical Raw Materials Regulation] shall be excluded from the
scope of this Regulation.
Article 3
Definitions
1. For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) ‘net-zero technologies’ means renewable energy technologies66; electricity and
heat storage technologies; heat pumps; grid technologies; renewable fuels of
non-biological origin technologies; sustainable alternative fuels technologies67;
electrolysers and fuel cells; advanced technologies to produce energy from
nuclear processes with minimal waste from the fuel cycle, small modular
reactors, and related best-in-class fuels; carbon capture, utilisation, and storage
technologies; and energy-system related energy efficiency technologies. They
refer to the final products, specific components and specific machinery
primarily used for the production of those products. They shall have reached a
technology readiness level of at least 8.
(b) ‘component’ means a small part of a net-zero technology that is manufactured
and traded by a company starting from processed materials;
(c) ‘innovative net-zero technologies’ means technologies which satisfy the
definition of ‘net-zero technologies’, except that they have not reached a
technology readiness level of at least 8, and that comprise genuine innovation
which are not currently available on the market and are advanced enough to be
tested in a controlled environment.
(d) ‘net-zero technology manufacturing project’ means a planned industrial facility
or extension or repurposing of an existing facility manufacturing net-zero
technologies;
(e) ‘net-zero strategic project’ means a net-zero technology manufacturing project
located in the Union that complies with the criteria set out in Article 10;
66
‘renewable energy' means ‘renewable energy’ as defined in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from
renewable sources
67
‘sustainable alternative fuels’ means fuels covered by the Proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport,
COM/2021/561 final and by the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and Council on
the use of renewable and low-carbon fuels in maritime transport COM/2021/562 final.
EN 36 EN
(f) ‘permit granting process’ means a process covering all relevant administrative
permits to plan, build, expand and operate net-zero technology manufacturing
projects, including building, chemical and grid connection permits and
environmental assessments and authorisations where these are required,
and encompassing all administrative applications and procedures from the
acknowledgment of the validity of the application to the notification of the
comprehensive decision on the outcome of the procedure by the responsible
national competent authority;
(g) ‘comprehensive decision’ means the decision or set of decisions taken
by Member State authorities not including courts or tribunals that determines
whether or not a project promoter is authorised to implement a net-zero
technology manufacturing project, without prejudice to any decision taken in
the context of an administrative appeal procedure;
(h) ‘project promoter’ means any undertaking or consortium of
undertakings developing a net-zero technology manufacturing project or a net-
zero strategic project;
(i) ‘net-zero regulatory sandbox’ means a scheme that enables undertakings to test
innovative net-zero technologies in a controlled real-world environment, under
a specific plan, developed and monitored by a competent authority.
(j) ‘technology readiness level’ means a method of estimating the maturity of
technologies, according to the classification used by the International Energy
Agency;
(k) ‘authority concerned’ means an authority that, under national law, is competent
to issue permits and authorisations related to the planning, design and
construction of immovable assets, including energy infrastructure;
(l) ‘public procurement procedure’ means any of the following:
(i) any type of award procedure covered by Directive 2014/24/EU for
the conclusion of a public contract or Directive 2014/25/EU for the
conclusion of a supply, works and service contract;
(ii) a procedure for the award of works or a service concession covered
by Directive 2014/23/EU;
(m) ‘contracting authority’ in the context of public procurement procedures, means
contracting authority as defined in Article 6 of Directive 2014/23/EU, Article
2(1), point (1) of Directive 2014/24/EU and Article 3 of Directive 2014/25/EU;
(n) ‘contracting entity’ in the context of public procurement procedures, means
contracting entity as defined in, Article 7 of Directive 2014/23/EU and Article
4 of Directive 2014/25/EU;
(o) ‘contract’, in the context of public procurement procedures, means a public
contract as defined in Article 2(1), point (5) of Directive 2014/24/EU,
‘contracts’ as defined in ‘supply, works and service contracts’ as defined in
Article 2, point (1), of Directive 2014/25/EU, and ‘concessions’ as defined in
Article 5, point (1), of Directive 2014/23/EU;
(p) ‘auction’ means a mechanism for competitive tendering procedures, not falling
under the definition of ‘concessions’ according to Article 5, point (1), of
Directive 2014/23/EU;
EN 37 EN
(q) ‘CO2 injection capacity’ means the annual amount of CO2 that can be injected
in an operational geological storage site, permitted under Directive
2009/31/EC, with the purpose to reduce emissions or increase carbon removals,
in particular from large scale industrial installations and which is measured in
tonnes per annum;
(r) ‘energy system integration’ means solutions for the planning and operating of
the energy system as a whole, across multiple energy carriers, infrastructures,
and consumption sectors, by creating stronger links between them with the
objective of delivering fossil-free, reliable and resource-efficient energy
services, at the least possible cost for society.
(s) ‘manufacturing capacity’ means the total amount of output capacity of the net-
zero technologies produced in a manufacturing project. If the manufacturing
project does not produce final products but specific components or specific
machinery primarily used for the production of such products, then
manufacturing capacity refers to output capacity of the final product that would
use such components or specific machinery to be produced.
Chapter II.
Enabling conditions for net-zero technology manufacturing
SECTION I.
STREAMLINING ADMINISTRATIVE AND PERMIT-GRANTING PROCESSES
Article 4
One Stop Shop
1. By …[3 months after the date of entry into force of this Regulation], Member States
shall designate one national competent authority which shall be responsible for
facilitating and coordinating the permit-granting process for net-zero technology
manufacturing projects, including for net-zero strategic projects, and to provide
advice on reducing administrative burden in line with Article 5.
2. The national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the sole point of
contact for the project promoter in the permit-granting process leading to a
comprehensive decision for a given project and shall coordinate the submission of all
relevant documents and information.
3. The responsibilities of the national competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 or
the tasks related to it may be delegated to, or carried out by, another authority, for
any given project, provided that:
(a) the national competent authority notifies the project promoter of that
delegation;
(b) a single authority is responsible for each of the projects;
(c) a single authority coordinates the submission of all relevant documents and
information.
4. Project promoters shall be allowed to submit any documents relevant to the permit-
granting process in electronic form.
EN 38 EN
5. The national competent authority shall take into consideration any valid studies
conducted, and permits or authorisations issued, for a given project before the project
entered the permit-granting process in accordance with this Article and shall not
require duplicate studies and permits or authorisations, unless otherwise required
under Union law.
6. The national competent authority shall ensure that applicants have easy access to
information on and simple procedures for the settlement of disputes concerning the
permit-granting process and the issuance of permits to construct or expand projects,
including, where applicable, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
7. Member States shall ensure that the national competent authority responsible for the
entire permit-granting processes, including all procedural steps, has a sufficient
number of qualified staff and sufficient financial, technical and technological
resources necessary, including for up- and re-skilling, for the effective performance
of its tasks under this Regulation.
8. The Platform referred to in Article 28 and 29 shall periodically discuss the
implementation of this Section and Articles 12 and 13 and share best-practices for
organising national competent authorities and speeding up permitting procedures.
Article 5
Online accessibility of information
Member States shall provide the following information on administrative processes relevant
to net-zero technology manufacturing projects, including net zero strategic projects, online
and in a centralised and easily accessible manner:
(a) the permit-granting process;
(b) financing and investment services;
(c) funding possibilities at Union or Member State level;
(d) business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax
declaration, local tax laws, labour law.
Article 6
Duration of the permit-granting process
1. The permit-granting process for net-zero technology manufacturing projects shall not
exceed any of the following time limits:
(a) 12 months for the construction of net-zero technology manufacturing projects
with a yearly manufacturing capacity of less than 1 GW;
(b) 18 months for the construction of net-zero technology manufacturing projects,
with a yearly manufacturing capacity of more than 1 GW.
2. For net-zero technology manufacturing projects for which a yearly manufacturing
capacity is not measured in GW, the permit-granting process shall not exceed a time
limit of 18 months.
3. For the expansion of manufacturing capacity in existing manufacturing facilities, the
time limits referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 shall be halved.
4. In exceptional cases, where the nature, complexity, location or size of the proposed
project so requires, competent authorities may extend the time limits referred to in
EN 39 EN
paragraph 1 and 2 by a maximum of 1 month before their expiry and on a case-by-
case basis.
Where competent authorities consider that the proposed project raises exceptional
risks for the health and safety of workers or of the general population, and where
additional time is necessary to establish that adequate safeguards are put in place,
they may extend those time limits by a further 6 months, before their expiry and on a
case-by-case basis.
5. In either such event, the competent authority shall inform the project promoter of the
reasons for the extension and of the date when the comprehensive decision is
expected in writing.
6. No later than one month following the receipt of the permit-granting application,
competent authorities shall validate the application or, if the project promoter has not
sent all the information required to process an application, request the project
promoter to submit a complete application within fourteen days from that request.
The date of the acknowledgement of the validity of the application by the national
competent authority referred to in Article 4(1) shall serve as the start of the permit
granting process.
7. No later than one month following the date of the acknowledgement of the validity
of the application, the national competent authority shall draw up, in close
cooperation with the project promoter and other authorities concerned, a detailed
schedule for the permit granting process. The schedule shall be published by the
national competent authority referred to in Article 4(1) on a free access website.
8. The time limits set in this Article shall be without prejudice to obligations arising
from Union and international law, and without prejudice to administrative appeal
procedures and judicial remedies before a court or tribunal.
9. The time limits set in this Article for any of the permit granting procedures shall be
without prejudice to any shorter time limits set by Member States.
Article 7
Environmental assessments and authorisations
1. Where an environmental impact assessment must be carried out in accordance with
Articles 5 to 9 of Directive 2011/92/EU, the project promoter concerned shall request
an opinion to the competent authority referred to in Article 4 on the scope and level
of detail of the information to be included in the environmental impact assessment
report pursuant to Article 5(1) of that Directive. The national competent
authority shall ensure that the opinion referred to in the first subparagraph is issued
as soon as possible and within a period of time not exceeding 30 days from the date
on which the project promoter submitted its request.
2. Where the obligation to assess the effects on the environment arises simultaneously
from Directive 2011/92/EU, Directive 92/43/EEC, Directive 2009/147/EC of the
European Parliament and the Council, Directive 2000/60/EC, Directive 2001/42/EC
of the European Parliament and the Council68, Directive 2008/98/EC of the European
68
Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the
assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (OJ L 197, 21.7.2001, p.
30).
EN 40 EN
Parliament and of the Council69, Directive 2010/75/EU or Directive 2012/18/EU of
the European Parliament and the Council70, the national competent authority shall
provide for coordinated or joint procedures fulfilling the requirements of that Union
legislation.
Under the coordinated procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the national
competent authority shall coordinate the various individual assessments of the
environmental impact of a particular project required by the applicable Union
legislation.
Under the joint procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, the national
competent authority shall provide for a single assessment of the environmental
impact of a particular project required by the applicable Union legislation.
3. The national competent authority shall ensure that the authorities concerned issue a
reasoned conclusion as referred to in Article 1(2), point (g)(iv) of Directive
2011/92/EU on the environmental impact assessment within three months of
receiving all necessary information gathered pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of that
Directive and completing the consultations referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of that
Directive.
4. The timeframes for consulting the public concerned on the environmental report
referred to in Article 5(1) of Directive 2011/92/EU shall not be longer than 45 days.
In cases falling under the second sub-paragraph of Article 6(4), this period shall be
extended to 90 days.
Article 8
Planning
1. When preparing plans, including zoning, spatial plans and land use plans, national,
regional and local authorities shall, where appropriate, include in those plans
provisions for the development of net-zero technology manufacturing projects,
including net-zero strategic projects. Priority shall be given to artificial and built
surfaces, industrial sites, brownfield sites, and, where appropriate, greenfield sites
not usable for agriculture and forestry.
2. Where plans include provisions for the development of net-zero technology
manufacturing projects, including net-zero strategic projects, are subject to an
assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC and pursuant to Article 6 of Directive
92/43/EEC, those assessments shall be combined. Where relevant, that combined
assessment shall also address the impact on potentially affected water bodies and
verify whether the plan potentially prevent a water body from achieving good status
or good potential or cause deterioration of status or of potential referred to in Article
4 of Directive 2000/60/EC or would potentially hamper that a water body achieves
good status or good potential. Where relevant Member States are required to assess
the impacts of existing and future activities on the marine environment, including
69
Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste
and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).
70
Directive 2012/18/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the control of
major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances, amending and subsequently repealing Council
Directive 96/82/EC (OJ L 197, 24.7.2012, p. 1).
EN 41 EN
land-sea interactions, as referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2014/89/EU, these
impacts shall also be covered by the combined assessment.
Article 9
Applicability of UNECE Conventions
1. The provisions set out in this Regulation are without prejudice to the obligations
under Articles 6 and 7 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-
making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, signed at Aarhus on 25 June
1998, and under the UNECE Convention on environmental impact assessment in a
transboundary context, signed at Espoo on 25 February 1991.
2. All decisions adopted pursuant to this Section and Articles 12 and 13 shall be made
publicly available.
SECTION II
NET-ZERO STRATEGIC PROJECTS
Article 10
Selection criteria
1. Member States shall recognise as net-zero strategic projects net-zero technology
manufacturing projects corresponding to a technology listed in the Annex and
located in the Union that contributes to the realisation of the objectives set out in
Article 1 of this Regulation and meet at least one of the following criteria:
(a) the net-zero technology manufacturing project contributes to the technological
and industrial resilience of the Union’s energy system by increasing the
manufacturing capacity of a component or part in the net-zero technology
value chain for which the Union heavily depends on imports coming from a
single third country ;
(b) the net-zero technology manufacturing project has positive impact on the
Union’s net-zero industry supply chain or downstream sectors, beyond the
project promoter and the Member States concerned, contributing to the
competitiveness and quality job creation of the Union’s net-zero industry
supply chain, according to at least three of the following criteria:
(i) it adds significant manufacturing capacity in the Union for net-zero
technologies;
(ii) it manufactures technologies with improved sustainability and
performance;
(iii) it puts into place measures to attract, upskill or reskill a workforce
required for net-zero technologies, including through apprenticeships, in
close cooperation with social partners;
(iv) it adopts comprehensive low-carbon and circular manufacturing
practices, including waste heat recovery.
2. Member States shall recognise as net-zero strategic projects CO2 storage projects that
meet the following cumulative criteria:
EN 42 EN
(a) the CO2 storage site is located in the territory of the Union, its exclusive
economic zones or on its continental shelf within the meaning of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);
(b) the CO2 storage project contributes to reaching the objective set out in Article
18;
(c) the CO2 storage project has applied for a permit for the safe and permanent
geological storage of CO2 in accordance with Directive 2009/31/EC.
3. Net-zero technology manufacturing projects corresponding to a technology listed in
the Annex located in ‘less developed and transition regions’ and Just Transition Fund
Territories and eligible for funding under cohesion policy rules, shall be recognised
by Member States as net-zero strategic projects under Article 11(3) upon request of
the project promoter without the project promoter having to submit a formal
application under Article 11(2).
4. A net-zero technology manufacturing project located in the Union that contributes to
the realisation of the objectives set out in Article 1(1) and that either benefits from
the ETS Innovation Fund, or is part of Important Projects of Common European
Interest, European Hydrogen Valleys, or of the Hydrogen Bank, when the funds
support investment in manufacturing capacities corresponding to a technology listed
in the Annex, shall be recognised by Member States as net-zero strategic project
under Article 11(3) upon request of the project promoter without the project
promoter having to submit a formal application under Article 11(2).
Article 11
Application and recognition
1. Applications for recognition of net-zero technology projects as net-zero strategic
projects shall be submitted by the project promoter to the relevant Member State.
2. The application referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain all of the following:
(a) relevant evidence related to the fulfilment of the criteria laid down in Article
10(1) or (2);
(b) a business plan evaluating the financial viability of the project consistent with
the objective of creating quality jobs.
3. Member States shall assess the application referred to in paragraph 1 through a fair
and transparent process within a month. The absence of a decision by Member States
within that time frame shall constitute an approval of the project.
4. The Commission may provide its opinion on the approved projects. In the case of a
rejection of the application by a Member State, the applicant shall have the right to
submit the application to the Commission, which shall assess the application within
20 working days.
5. Where the Commission, following its assessment in accordance with paragraph 4,
confirms the rejection of the application by the Member State, it shall notify the
applicant of its conclusion in the form of a letter. Where the Commission differs in
its assessment from the Member State, the Net-Zero Europe Platform shall discuss
the project in question.
6. Where the Commission or a Member State finds that a net-zero strategic project has
undergone substantial changes or that it no longer fulfils the criteria set out in Article
EN 43 EN
10(1) or 10(3), or where its recognition was based on an application containing
incorrect information, it shall inform the project promoter concerned.
After hearing the project promoter, the Member State may repeal the decision
granting a project the status of net-zero strategic project.
7. Projects which are no longer recognised as net-zero strategic project shall lose all
rights connected to that status under this Regulation.
8. The Commission shall set up and maintain an openly available registry of net-zero
strategic projects.
Article 12
Priority status of net-zero strategic projects
1. Project promoters and all authorities that, under national law, are competent to issue
various permits and authorisations related to the planning, design and construction of
immovable assets, including energy infrastructure, shall ensure that for net-zero
strategic projects those processes are treated in the most rapid way possible in
accordance with Union and national law.
2. Without prejudice to obligations provided for in Union law, Member States shall
grant net-zero strategic projects the status of the highest national significance
possible, where such a status exists in national law, and be treated accordingly in the
permit-granting processes including those relating to environmental assessments and
if national law so provides, to spatial planning.
3. Net-zero strategic projects shall be considered to contribute to the security of supply
of strategic net-zero technologies in the Union and therefore to be in the public
interest. With regard to the environmental impacts addressed in Articles 6(4) and
16(1)I of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC and Article
9(1)(a) of Directive 2009/147/EC, net-zero strategic projects in the Union shall be
considered as being of public interest and may be considered as having an overriding
public interest provided that all the conditions set out in those Directives are fulfilled.
4. All dispute resolution procedures, litigation, appeals and judicial remedies related to
net-zero strategic projects in front of any national courts, tribunals, panels, including
mediation or arbitration, where they exist in national law, shall be treated as urgent,
if and to the extent to which national law provides for such urgency procedures and
provided that the normally applicable rights of defence of individuals or of local
communities would be respected Project promoters of net-zero strategic projects
shall participate in such urgency procedure, where applicable.
Article 13
Duration of the permit-granting process for net-zero strategic projects
1. The permit-granting process for net-zero strategic projects shall not exceed any of
the following time limits:
(a) 9 months for the construction of net-zero strategic projects with a yearly
manufacturing capacity of less than 1 GW;
(b) 12 months for the construction of net-zero strategic projects, with a yearly
manufacturing capacity of more than 1 GW;
EN 44 EN
(c) 18 months for all necessary permits to operate a storage site in accordance with
Directive 2009/31/EC.
2. For net-zero strategic technologies for which a yearly manufacturing capacity is not
measured in GW, the permit-granting process shall not exceed a time limit of 12
months.
3. For the expansion of manufacturing capacity in existing manufacturing facilities, the
time limits referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be halved.
4. National competent authorities shall ensure that the lack of reply of the relevant
administrative bodies within the applicable time limits referred to in this Article
results in the specific intermediary steps to be considered as approved, except where
the specific project is subject to an environmental impact assessment pursuant to
Council Directive 92/43/EEC or Directive 2000/60/EC, Directive 2008/98/EC,
Directive 2009/147/EC, Directive 2010/75/EU, 2011/92/EU or Directive 2012/18/EU
or a determination of whether such environmental impact assessment is necessary
and the relevant assessments concerned have not yet been carried out, or where the
principle of administrative tacit approval does not exist in the national legal system.
This provision shall not apply to final decisions on the outcome of the process, which
are to be explicit. All decisions shall be made publicly available.
Article 14
Accelerating implementation
1. The Commission and the Member States shall undertake activities to accelerate and
crowd-in private investments in net-zero strategic projects. Such activities may,
without prejudice to Article 107 and Article 108 of the TFEU, include providing and
coordinating support to net-zero strategic projects facing difficulties in accessing
finance.
2. Member States may provide administrative support to net-zero strategic projects to
facilitate their rapid and effective implementation, including by providing:
(a) assistance to ensure compliance with applicable administrative and reporting
obligations;
(b) assistance to project promoters to further increase the public acceptance of the
project.
Article 15
Coordination of financing
1. The Net-Zero Europe Platform as established in Article 28 shall discuss financial
needs and bottlenecks of net-zero strategic projects, potential best practices, in
particular to develop EU cross-border supply chains, notably based on regular
exchanges with the relevant industrial alliances.
2. The Net-Zero Europe Platform shall, at the request of the net-zero strategic project
promoter, discuss and advise on how the financing of its project can be completed,
taking into account the funding already secured and considering at least the
following elements:
(a) additional private sources of financing;
EN 45 EN
(b) support through resources from the European Investment Bank Group or other
international financial institutions including the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development;
(c) existing Member State instruments and programmes, including from national
promotional banks and institutions;
(d) relevant Union funding and financing programmes.
Chapter III
CO2 injection capacity
Article 16
Union level objective of CO2 injection capacity
An annual injection capacity of at least 50 million tonnes of CO2 shall be achieved by 2030,
in storage sites located in the territory of the European Union, its exclusive economic zones or
on its continental shelf within the meaning of the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS) and which are not combined with Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery
(EHR).
Article 17
Transparency of CO2 storage capacity data
1. By 3 months from the entry into force of this Regulation, Member States shall:
(a) make publicly available data on areas where CO2 storage sites can be
permitted on their territory.
(b) oblige entities holding an authorisation as defined in Article 1, point 3, of
Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 71 on their
territory to make publicly available all geological data relating to production
sites that have been decommissioned or whose decommissioning has been
notified to the competent authority.
(c) For the purposes of point (a), the data shall include at least the information
requested in the Commission Notice on the Guidance to Member States for the
update of the 2021-2030 National Energy and Climate Plans.
2. By six months from the entry into force of this Regulation and each year thereafter,
each Member State shall submit to the Commission a report describing:
(a) CO2 capture projects in progress and an estimation of the corresponding needs
for injection and storage capacities;
(b) CO2 storage projects in progress on its territory, including the status of
permitting under Directive 2009/31/EC, expected dates for Final Investment
Decision (FID) and entry into operation;
(c) the national support measures that could be adopted to prompt projects referred
to in points (a) and (b).
71
Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions
for granting and using authorizations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons
(OJ L 164, 30.6.1994, p. 3).
EN 46 EN
Article 18
Contribution of authorised oil and gas producers
1. Each entity holding an authorisation as defined in Article 1, point 3, of Directive
94/22/EC shall be subject to an individual contribution to the Union-wide target for
available CO2 injection capacity set in Article 16. Those individual contributions
shall be calculated pro-rata on the basis of each entity’s share in the Union’s crude
oil and natural gas production from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 and shall
consist of CO2 injection capacity in a storage site permitted in accordance with
Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide and available to
the market by 2030.
2. Within three months of the entry into force of this Regulation, Member States shall,
identify and report to the European Commission the entities referred to in paragraph
1 and their volumes in crude oil and natural gas production from 1 January 2020 to
31 December 2023.
3. Following the receipt of the reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 (2), the
Commission after having consulted Member States and interested parties, shall
specify the share of the contribution to the Union CO2 injection capacity objective
by 2030 from entities referred to in paragraph 1.
4. Within twelve months of the entry into force of the Regulation, the entities referred
to in paragraph 1 shall submit to the Commission a plan detailing how they intend to
meet their contribution to Union CO2 injection capacity objective by 2030. Those
plans shall:
(a) confirm the entity's contribution, expressed in terms of targeted volume of new
CO2 storage and injection capacity commissioned by 2030;
(b) specify the means and the milestones for reaching the targeted volume.
5. To meet their targeted volumes of available injection capacity, entities referred to in
paragraph 1 can do any of the following:
(a) develop CO2 storage projects alone or in co-operation;
(b) enter into agreements with other entities referred to in paragraph 1;
(c) enter into agreements with third party storage project developers or investors to
fulfil their contribution.
6. Two years after the entry into force of the Regulation and every year thereafter, the
entities referred to in paragraph 1 shall submit a report to the Commission detailing
their progress towards meeting their contribution. The Commission shall make these
reports public.
7. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32
to supplement this Regulation concerning:
(a) The modalities in which agreements between entities referred to in paragraph 1
and investments in storage capacity held by third parties are taken into account
to meet their individual contribution under paragraph 5, points b and c.
(b) The content of the reports referred to in paragraph 6.
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Chapter IV.
Access to markets
Article 19
Sustainability and resilience contribution in public procurement procedures
1. Contracting authorities or contracting entities shall base the award of contracts for
net-zero technology listed in the Annex 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,
in compliance with Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU, or 2014/25/EU and
applicable sectoral legislation, as well as with the Union’s international
commitments, including the GPA and other international agreements by which the
Union is bound.
2. The tender’s sustainability and resilience contribution shall be based on the following
cumulative criteria which shall be objective, transparent and non-discriminatory:
(a) environmental sustainability going beyond the minimum requirements in
applicable legislation;
(b) where an innovative solution needs to be developed, the impact and the quality
of the implementation plan, including risk management measures;
(c) where applicable, the tender’s contribution to the energy system integration;
(d) the tender’s contribution to resilience, taking into account the proportion of the
products originating from a single source of supply, as determined in
accordance with Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and
of the Council72, from which more than 65% of the supply for that specific net-
zero technology within the Union originates in the last year for which data is
available for when the tender takes place.
3. Contracting authorities and contracting entities shall give the tender’s sustainability
and resilience contribution a weight between 15% and 30% of the award criteria,
without prejudice of the application of Article 41 (3) of Directive 2014/23/EU,
Article 67 (5) of Directive 2014/24/EU or Article 82 (5) of Directive 2014/25/EU for
giving a higher weighting to the criteria referred to in paragraph 2, points (a) and (b).
4. The contracting authority or the contracting entity shall not be obliged to apply the
considerations relating to the sustainability and resilience contribution of net-zero
technologies where their application would oblige that authority or entity to acquire
equipment having disproportionate costs, or technical characteristics different from
those of existing equipment, resulting in incompatibility, technical difficulties in
operation and maintenance. Cost differences above 10% may be presumed by
contracting authorities and contracting entities to be disproportionate.This provision
shall be without prejudice of the possibility to exclude abnormally low tenders under
Article 69 of Directive 2014/24/EU and Article 84 of Directive 2014/25/EU, and
without prejudice to other contract award criteria according to the EU legislation,
including social aspects according to Articles 30 (3) and 36 (1), second intent of
72
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying
down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).
EN 48 EN
Directive 2014/23/EU, Articles 18 (2) and 67 (2) of Directive 2014/24/EU and
Articles 36 (2) and 82 (2) of Directive 2014/24/EU.
Article 20
Auctions to deploy renewable energy sources
1. Without prejudice to Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and Articles 107 and 108
the Treaty, and to the Union’s international commitments including the GPA and
other international agreements by which the Union is bound, Member States,
regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law or associations formed
by one or more such authorities or one or more such bodies governed by public law,
shall assess the sustainability and resilience contribution as referred to in Article
19(2) of this Regulation when designing the criteria used for ranking bids in the
framework of auctions, the aim of which is to support the production or consumption
of energy from renewable sources as defined in Article 2, point (1) of Directive (EU)
2018/2001.
2. The sustainability and resilience contribution shall be given a weight between 15%
and 30% of the award criteria, without prejudice of the possibility to give a higher
weighting to the criteria in Article 19(2), points (a) and (b), where applicable under
Union legislation, and of any limit for non-price criteria set under State aid rules.
3. The Member States, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law or
associations formed by one or more such authorities or one or more such bodies
governed by public law shall not be obliged to apply the considerations relating to
the sustainability and resilience contribution of net-zero technologies where their
application would oblige those entities to acquire equipment having disproportionate
costs, or technical characteristics different from those of existing equipment,
resulting in incompatibility, technical difficulties in operation and maintenance. Cost
differences above 10% may be presumed by contracting authorities and contracting
entities to be disproportionate.
Article 21
Other forms of public intervention
1. Without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty and Article 4 of Directive
2018/200173 and in line with the Union’s international commitments, when deciding
to set up schemes benefitting households or consumers which incentivise the
purchase of net-zero technology final products listed in the Annex, Member States,
regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law or associations formed
by one or more such authorities or one or more such bodies governed by public law,
shall design them in such a way as to promote the purchase by beneficiaries of net-
zero technology final products with a high sustainability and resilience contribution
as referred in Article 19(2), by providing additional proportionate financial
compensation.
2. The additional financial compensation granted by authorities in accordance with
paragraph 1, due to the application of the criteria referred to in Article 19(2) (b) (c)
73
Directive 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
EN 49 EN
and (d) shall not exceed 5 % of the cost of the net-zero technology final product for
the consumer.
3. When designing and implementing a scheme falling under paragraph 1, the authority
shall base itself on an open, non-discriminatory and transparent process to assess the
resilience and sustainability contribution of available products on the market. Any
net-zero technology final product shall be entitled to apply to join the scheme at any
time. The authority shall specify a pass mark for products to be eligible to the
additional financial compensation under the support scheme.
4. Member States shall publish on a single free access website all information relating
to schemes pursuant to Article 21(1) for each relevant net-zero technology product.
Article 22
Coordination of access to markets initiatives
1. Where relevant, the Commission shall provide guidance on the criteria to assess the
resilience and sustainability contribution of available products covered by the forms
of public intervention covered under articles 19, 20 and 21.
2. The Commission shall make available and regularly update a list of each of the net-
zero technology final products listed in the Annex, broken down by the share of
Union supply originating in different third countries in the last year for which data is
available.
3. The Net-Zero Europe Platform shall discuss measures carried out by Member States
to implement Articles 19 and 21 and exchange best practices, inter alia, as concerns
the practical use of criteria defining the sustainability and resilience contribution in
public procurement, or schemes incentivising the purchase of net-zero technology
final products.
Chapter V.
Enhancing skills for quality job creation
Article 23
European Net Zero Industry Academies
1. The Commission shall support, including through the provision of seed-funding, the
establishment of European Net Zero Industry Academies, which have as their
objectives to:
(a) develop learning programmes, content and learning and training materials for
training and education on developing, producing, installing, commissioning,
operating, maintaining and recycling net-zero technologies, on raw materials,
as well as to support the capacities of public authorities competent to issue
permits and authorisations referred to in Chapter II and contracting authorities
referred to in Chapter IV of this Regulation;
(b) enable and promote the use of the learning programmes, content and materials
by education and training providers in the Member States, among others by
training trainers and develop mechanisms to ensure the quality of the training
offered by education and training providers in the Member States based on the
above learning programmes, content and materials;
EN 50 EN
(c) develop and deploy credentials, including micro-credentials, to facilitate the
transparency of skills acquired and enhance the transferability between jobs
and the cross-border mobility of the workforce, and to promote matching with
relevant jobs through tools such as the European Employment Services
(EURES) network and EURAXESS.
2. European Net Zero Industry Academies shall counter gender stereotypes and pay
particular attention to the need to activate more women and young people, who are
not in education, employment or training for the labour market.
Article 24
Regulated professions in Net Zero Industries and recognition of professional qualifications
1. By 31 December 2024 and every two years thereafter, Member States shall identify
whether the learning programmes developed by the European net-zero industry
academies are equivalent to the specific qualifications required by the host Member
State to access regulated activities within the scope of a profession with particular
interest for the net-zero industry. Member States shall ensure that the results of the
assessments are made public and easily accessible online.
2. If a Member State concludes there is equivalence, as described in the first paragraph
of this Article, it shall facilitate the recognition of credentials issued by education
and training providers on the basis of the learning programmes developed by the
academies, under Title III Chapter I of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council74, whenever a holder of such a credential requests
access to a regulated profession within the meaning of Article 3(1)(a) of Directive
2005/36/EC, and of particular importance for the net-zero industry, by accepting the
credential as sufficient evidence of formal qualifications.
3. Where access to a profession of particular importance for the net-zero industry is
regulated within the meaning of Article 3(1)(a) of Directive 2005/36/EC, Member
States shall work towards developing a common set of minimum knowledge, skills
and competences necessary for the pursuit of this specific profession with the
purpose of establishing a Common Training Framework as referred to in Article 49a
(1) of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council to enable
automatic recognition of qualifications. The Net Zero Industry Platform may also
submit suggestions as referred to in Article 49a (3) of Directive 2005/36/EC.
Article 25
Net-Zero Europe Platform and skills
The Net-Zero Europe Platform referred to in Article 28 shall support the availability and
deployment of skills in net-zero technologies, and in competent authorities and contracting
authorities referred to in Chapter II and Chapter IV, through the following tasks:
(1) assist the Commission in assessing, continuously monitoring and forecasting the
demand and supply of a workforce with the skill sets needed in net-zero technologies
and the availability and uptake of corresponding education and training
74
Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the
recognition of professional qualifications (Text with EEA relevance), (OJ L 255, 30.9.2005, p. 22).
EN 51 EN
opportunities, informing as appropriate the activities of the European Net-Zero
Industry Academies;
(2) monitor the activity of the European Net-Zero Industry Academies and of education
and training providers who offer the learning programmes developed by the
Academies, foster synergies with other national and Union skills initiatives and
projects, and provide oversight;
(3) assist the mobilisation of stakeholders including industry, social partners and
education and training providers for the roll-out of learning programs developed by
the European Net-Zero Industry Academies;
(4) assist the uptake and recognition of learning credentials of the European Net-Zero
Industry Academies in the Member States to promote the recognition of skills and
the matching of skills and jobs, inter alia by promoting the validity and acceptance of
the credentials throughout the labour market of the European Union;
(5) facilitate the development of European occupation profiles consisting of a common
set of knowledge, skills and competences for key professions in the net-zero
technologies, drawing inter alia upon the learning programmes developed by the
European Net-Zero Industry Academies, and, where appropriate, using the
terminology provided by the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and
Occupations (ESCO) classification to facilitate transparency and mobility between
jobs and across internal market borders;
(6) promote adequate working conditions in jobs in net-zero technology industries, the
activation of youth, women and seniors to the labour market for net-zero technology
industries, and the attraction of skilled workers from third countries, and thereby
achieve a more diverse workforce;
(7) facilitate closer coordination and the exchange of best practices between Member
States to enhance the availability of skills in the net-zero technologies, including by
contributing to Union and Member States policies to attract new talents from third
countries.
Chapter VI.
Innovation
Article 26
Net-Zero regulatory sandboxes
1. 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. Member States shall establish net-
zero regulatory sandboxes in accordance with paragraph 1 at the request of any
company developing innovative net-zero technologies, which fulfils the eligibility
and selection criteria referred to in paragraph 4(a) and which has been selected by the
competent authorities following the selection procedure referred to in paragraph 4(b).
2. The modalities and the conditions for the establishment and operation of the net-zero
regulatory sandboxes under this Regulation shall be adopted through implementing
acts in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 36. The
modalities and conditions shall to the extent possible support flexibility for national
EN 52 EN
competent authorities to establish and operate their Net-zero regulatory sandboxes,
foster innovation and regulatory learning and shall particularly take into account the
special circumstances and capacities of participating SMEs, including start-ups. The
implementing acts referred to in paragraph 3 shall include common main principles
on the following issues:
(a) eligibility and selection for participation in the net-zero regulatory sandboxes;
(b) procedure for the application, participation, monitoring, exiting from and
termination of the net-zero regulatory sandboxes, including the sandbox plan
and the exit report;
(c) the terms and conditions applicable to the participants.
3. The participation in the net-zero regulatory sandboxes shall not affect the supervisory
and corrective powers of the authorities supervising the sandbox. The testing,
development and validation of innovative net-zero technologies shall take place
under the direct supervision and guidance of the competent authorities. The
competent authorities shall exercise their supervisory powers in a flexible manner
within the limits of the relevant legislation, adapting existing regulatory practices and
using their discretionary powers when implementing and enforcing legal provisions
to a specific net-zero regulatory sandbox project, with the objective of removing
barriers, alleviating regulatory burden, reducing regulatory uncertainty, and
supporting innovation in net-zero technologies.
4. Where relevant to achieve the objective of this article, the competent authorities shall
consider granting derogations or exemptions to the extent allowed by the relevant
Union or national law. The competent authorities shall ensure that the sandbox plan
ensures respect for the key objectives and essential requirements of the EU and
national legislation. Competent authorities shall make sure that any significant risks
to health, safety or the environment identified during the development and testing of
innovative net-zero technologies is publicly communicated and results in immediate
suspension of the development and testing process until such risk is mitigated. Where
competent authorities consider that the proposed project raises exceptional risks for
the health and safety of workers, of the general population, or of the environment, in
particular because it relates to testing, development or validation involving
particularly toxic substances, they shall only approve the sandbox plan once they are
satisfied that adequate safeguards have been put in place commensurate with the
exceptional risk identified.
5. Provided that the participant(s) respect the sandbox plan and the terms and
conditions for their participation issued in compliance with this Article and as
referred to in paragraph 2 and follow in good faith the guidance given by the
authorities, no administrative fines or other penalties shall be imposed by the
authorities for infringement of applicable Union or Member State legislation relating
to the net zero technology supervised in the regulatory sandbox.
6. Participants in the innovative net-zero regulatory sandbox shall remain liable under
applicable Union and Member States’ liability legislation for any harm inflicted on
third parties as a result of the testing taking place in the regulatory sandbox.
7. The duration of the net-zero regulatory sandbox may be extended through the same
procedure upon agreement of the national competent authority.
8. The net-zero regulatory sandboxes shall be designed and implemented in such a way
that, where relevant, they facilitate cross-border cooperation between the national
EN 53 EN
competent authorities. Member States that have established net-zero regulatory
sandboxes shall coordinate their activities and cooperate within the framework of the
Net-Zero Europe Platform with the objectives of sharing relevant information. They
shall report annually to the Commission on the results of the implementation of
regulatory sandboxes, including good practices, lessons learnt and recommendations
on their setup and, where relevant, on the application within the regulatory sandbox
of this Regulation and other Union legislation in a manner adapted for the purposes
of the sandbox.
Article 27
Measures for small and medium enterprises
1. Member States shall undertake the following actions:
(a) provide small and medium enterprises with priority access to the Innovative
Net-zero regulatory sandboxes to the extent that they fulfil the eligibility
conditions set in Article 26;
(b) organise awareness raising activities about participation to the regulatory
sandboxes by small and medium enterprises;
(c) where appropriate, establish a dedicated channel for communication with small
and medium enterprises to provide guidance and respond to queries about the
implementation of Article 26.
2. Member States shall take into account the specific interests and needs of small and
medium enterprises , and provide adequate administrative support to take part in the
regulatory sandboxes. Without prejudice to the application of Articles 107 and 108 of
the Treaty, Member States should inform small and medium enterprises of available
financial support to their activities in the regulatory sandboxes.
Chapter VII.
Governance
Article 28
Establishment and tasks of the Net-Zero Europe Platform
1. The Net-Zero Europe Platform (‘the Platform’) is established.
2. The Platform shall perform the tasks set out in this Regulation.
3. The Platform may advise and assist the Commission and Member States in relation
to their actions to reach the objectives outlined in Chapter I of this Regulation, taking
into account Member States’ national energy and climate plans submitted under
Regulation (EU) 2018/199975.
75
Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the
Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, amending Regulations (EC) No 663/2009 and
(EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Directives 94/22/EC, 98/70/EC,
2009/31/EC, 2009/73/EC, 2010/31/EU, 2012/27/EU and 2013/30/EU of the European Parliament and
of the Council, Council Directives 2009/119/EC and (EU) 2015/652 and repealing Regulation (EU) No
525/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance.), (OJ L 328,
21.12.2018, p. 1).
EN 54 EN
4. The Commission and Member States may coordinate within the Platform on the Net-
Zero Industrial Partnerships and also with relevant third countries to help promote
the adoption of net-zero technologies globally and to support the role of Union
industrial capabilities in paving the way for the global clean energy transition, in line
with the overall objectives of this Regulation stemming from Article 1 of this
Regulation. The Platform may periodically discuss:
(a) how to improve cooperation along the net-zero value chain between the Union
and third countries;
(b) how to address non-tariff barriers to trade, such as through mutual recognition
of conformity assessment or commitments to avoid export restrictions;
(c) which third countries should be prioritised for the conclusion of Net-Zero
Industrial Partnerships, taking into account the following:
i) the potential contribution to security of supply, taking into account their
manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies;
ii) whether there are existing cooperation agreements between a third
country and the Union.
5. Member States shall support the Commission in the implementation of the
cooperation measures set out in the Net-Zero Industrial Partnership. Net-Zero
Industrial Partnerships will have the objective of facilitating trade among
participants, including by favouring necessary investments within the Union and in
third countries, enhancing resilience and sustainability of the supportive value
chains, and guaranteeing a level playing field.
Article 29
Structure and functioning of the Net-Zero Europe Platform
1. The Platform shall be composed Member States and of the Commission. It shall be
chaired by a representative of the Commission.
2. Each Member State shall appoint a high-level representative to the Platform. Where
relevant as regards the function and expertise, a Member State may have more than
one representative in relation to different tasks related to the work of the Platform.
Each member of the Platform shall have an alternate.
3. On a proposal by the Commission, the Platform shall adopt its rules of procedure by
a simple majority of its members.
4. The Platform shall meet at regular intervals to ensure the effective performance of
its tasks specified in this Regulation. Where necessary, the Platform shall meet at the
reasoned request of the Commission or a simple majority of its members.
5. The Commission shall assist the Platform by means of an executive secretariat that
provides technical and logistic support.
6. The Platform may establish standing or temporary sub-groups dealing with specific
questions and tasks.
7. The Platform shall invite representatives of the European Parliament to attend, as
observers, its meetings, including of the standing or temporary sub-groups referred to
in paragraph 6.
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8. Where appropriate, the Platform or the Commission may invite experts and other
third parties to Platform and sub-group meetings or to provide written contributions.
9. The Platform shall take the necessary measures to ensure the safe handling and
processing of confidential and commercially sensitive information.
10. The Platform shall use its best endeavours to reach consensus.
11. The Platform shall coordinate and cooperate with existing industrial alliances.
Article 30
Articulation with National Energy and Climate Plans
Member States shall take into consideration this Regulation when preparing their national
energy and climate plans and their updates, submitted pursuant to Articles 3, 9, and 14 of
Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, in particular as regards the dimension “research, innovation and
competitiveness” of the Energy Union, and in the submission of their biennial progress
reports in accordance with Article 17 of that Regulation.
Chapter VIII.
Monitoring
Article 31
Monitoring
1. The Commission shall monitor on an ongoing basis:
(a) The Union’s progress with respect to the Union’s objectives referred to in
Article 1, and the related impact of this Regulation;
(b) the progress with respect to the Union level objective of CO2 injection capacity
referred to in Article 16.
2. Member States and the national authorities they designate for this purpose shall
collect and provide data and other evidence required pursuant to paragraph 1, points
(a) and (b). In particular, they shall collect and report each year to the Commission
data on:
(a) net-zero technology developments and market trends, including average
manufacturing investment costs and production costs, and market prices for the
respective net-zero technologies;
(b) net-zero technology manufacturing capacity and related activities, including
data on employment and skills and progress towards achieving the 2030 targets
referred to in recital 13;
(c) value and volume of imports into the Union and exports outside of the Union
of net-zero technologies;
(d) the average duration of permitting procedures under this Regulation;
(e) the types and number of permits granted at national level within the past 12
months;
(f) the amount of permit-granting processes completed, stalled or cancelled within
the past 12 months and the types of barriers encountered in case of interruption
or cancellation;
EN 56 EN
(g) the number of sandboxes set up within the past 12 months;
(h) the amount of CO2 stored permanently underground in accordance with
Directive 2009/31/EC.
3. The data shall include at least the information requested in the Commission Notice
on the Guidance to Member States for the update of the 2021-2030 National Energy
and Climate Plans.
4. The first report shall be sent to the Commission by each Member State at the end of
May of the year following the date of entry into force of this Regulation. The
following reports shall be sent by the end of May every year.
5. Member States shall also transmit the data collected pursuant to paragraph 2 of this
Article to national statistical offices and to Eurostat for the purposes of compiling
and publishing statistics in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the
European Parliament and of the Council76. Member States shall designate the
national authority responsible for transmitting the data to national statistical offices
and Eurostat.
6. On the basis of the reports submitted pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, the
Commission shall monitor the Union’s progress referred to paragraph 1, point (a) and
publish related reccomendations on an annual basis as part of the Annual Reports on
Competitiveness of Clean Energy Technologies, pursuant to Article 35 (2), point (m)
of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
7. On the basis of the draft permit applications submitted pursuant to Article 10 of the
Directive 2009/31/EC and on the reports submitted pursuant to Articles 17(2) and
Article 18(4) and 18(6) of this Regulation, the Commission shall monitor the
progress towards reaching the Union-wide target for CO2 injection capacity referred
to paragraph 1 point (b) of this Article and shall report annually to the European
Parliament and the Council.
Chapter IX.
Final provisions
Article 32
Delegation of power
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 33 to
amend the modalities in which agreements between entities referred to in Article 18(1) and
investments in storage capacity held by third parties are taken into account to meet their
individual contribution set out in Article 18 (5), as well as the content of the reports referred
to in Article 18 (6).
76
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on
European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament
and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical
Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics,
and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of
the European Communities (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164).
EN 57 EN
Article 33
Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the
conditions laid down in this Article.
2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 32 shall be conferred on the
Commission for a period of five years from [date of application]. The Commission
shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine
months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be
tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament
or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of
each period.
3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 32 may be revoked at any time by the
European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the
delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day
following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European
Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any
delegated acts already in force.
4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by
each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the
Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.
5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to
the European Parliament and to the Council.
6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 32 shall enter into force only if no
objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council
within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament
and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and
the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That
period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament
or of the Council.
Article 34
Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a
committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No
182/2011 shall apply.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No
182/2011 shall apply.
4. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No
182/2011, in conjunction with Article 4 thereof, shall apply.
Article 35
Evaluation
1. By…[3 years after the date of application of this Regulation], and every 3 years
thereafter, the Commission shall evaluate this Regulation and present a report on the
EN 58 EN
main findings to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic
and Social Committee.
2. The evaluation shall assess whether the objectives of this Regulation as established
in Article 1 have been achieved and its impact on business users, especially SMEs,
and end users, and the European Green Deal objectives.
3. The evaluation shall take into account the result of the monitoring process as outlined
in Article 31.
4. The competent authorities of the Member States shall provide to the Commission any
relevant information they have and that the Commission may require to draw up the
report referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 36
Treatment of confidential information
1. Information acquired in the course of implementing this Regulation shall be used
only for the purposes of this Regulation and shall be protected by the relevant Union
and national legislation.
2. Member States and the Commission shall ensure the protection of trade and business
secrets and other sensitive, confidential and classified information acquired and
generated in application of this Regulation, including recommendations and
measures to be taken, in accordance with Union and the respective national law.
3. Member States and the Commission shall ensure that classified information provided
or exchanged under this Regulation is not downgraded or declassified without the
prior written consent of the originator.
4. If a Member State assesses that the presentation of aggregated information in the
context of Article 18 may nonetheless compromise its national security interest, it
may object to the Commission’s presentation through a justified notice.
5. The Commission and the national authorities, their officials, employees and other
persons working under the supervision of these authorities shall ensure the
confidentiality of information obtained in carrying out their tasks and activities. This
obligation also applies to all representatives of Member States, observers, experts
and other participants attending meetings of the Platform pursuant to Article 29.
Article 37
Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2018/1724
Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 is amended as follows:
(1) in Annex I, in the first column, a new row ‘R. Net-zero technology manufacturing
projects’ is added.
(2) in Annex I, in the second column, in the row ‘R. Net-zero technology manufacturing
projects’, the following point are added:
‘1. information on the permit-granting process’
‘2. financing and investment services’
‘3. funding possibilities at Union or Member State level’
‘4. business support services, including but not limited to corporate tax
declaration, local tax laws, labour law’.
EN 59 EN
(3) in Annex II, in the first column, a new row ‘Net-zero technology manufacturing
projects’ is added.
(4) in Annex II, in the second column, in the row ‘Net-Zero technology manufacturing
projects’, the following points are added:
‘Procedures for all relevant administrative permits to plan, build, expand and
operate net-zero technology manufacturing projects, including building,
chemical and grid connection permits and environmental assessments and
authorisations where these are required, and encompassing all administrative
applications and procedures’.
(5) in Annex II, in the third column, in the row ‘Net-Zero manufacturing projects’, the
following point is added:
‘All outputs pertaining to the procedures ranging from the acknowledgment of
the validity of the application to the notification of the comprehensive decision
on the outcome of the procedure by the responsible national competent
authority’.
(6) in Annex III, the following point is added:
‘(8) National competent authorities acting as one stop shop pursuant to Article
4 of [the NZIA] Regulation.’
Article 38
Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on…[the day following that of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Union].
It shall apply from [date of entry into force]. Until [2 years following the date of application
of this Regulation], Article 19 (2), point (a), (b) and (c) shall apply only to contracts
concluded by central purchasing bodies as defined in Article 2 (1), point (16), of Directive
2014/24/EU and Article 2 (1), point (12), of Directive 2014/25/EU and for contracts of a
value equal to or higher than EUR 25 million.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
For the European Parliament For the Council
The President The President
EN 60 EN
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT
1. FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE
1.1. Title of the proposal/initiative
1.2. Policy area(s) concerned
1.3. The proposal/initiative relates to:
1.4. Objective(s)
1.4.1. General objective(s)
1.4.2. Specific objective(s)
1.4.3. Expected result(s) and impact
1.4.4. Indicators of performance
1.5. Grounds for the proposal/initiative
1.5.1. Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for
roll-out of the implementation of the initiative
1.5.2. Added value of Union involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g.
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For
the purposes of this point 'added value of Union involvement' is the value resulting
from Union intervention, which is additional to the value that would have been
otherwise created by Member States alone.
1.5.3. Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past
1.5.4. Compatibility with the Multiannual Financial Framework and possible synergies
with other appropriate instruments
1.5.5. Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for
redeployment
1.6. Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative
1.7. Method(s) of budget implementation planned
2. MANAGEMENT MEASURES
2.1. Monitoring and reporting rules
2.2. Management and control system(s)
2.2.1. Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s),
the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed
2.2.2. Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up
to mitigate them
2.2.3. Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control
costs ÷ value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels
of risk of error (at payment & at closure)
2.3. Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities
3. ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE
EN 1 EN
3.1. Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget
line(s) affected
3.2. Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations
3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations
3.2.2. Estimated output funded with operational appropriations
3.2.3. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations
3.2.3.1. Estimated requirements of human resources
3.2.4. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework
3.2.5. Third-party contributions
3.3. Estimated impact on revenue
EN 2 EN
1. FRAMEWORK OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE
1.1. Title of the proposal/initiative
Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a
framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products
manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act)
1.2. Policy area(s) concerned
Single Market
A European Green Deal
A Europe fit for the digital age
A stronger Europe in the world
1.3. The proposal/initiative relates to:
a new action
a new action following a pilot project/preparatory action 77
the extension of an existing action
a merger or redirection of one or more actions towards another/a new action
1.4. Objective(s)
1.4.1. General objective(s)
The Green Deal Industrial Plan sets out a comprehensive approach for supporting
clean energy technology scale up articulated around four pillars. The first pillar,
which is the focus of this Net Zero Industry Act, aims at creating a regulatory
environment that simplifies and fast-tracks permitting for new net-zero technology
products production sites and facilitates the scaling up of the European net zero
industry.
The Net Zero Industry Act aims to increase the Union’s resilience and ensure the
security of energy supply in the Union, as well as to promote energy efficiency and
the development of new and renewable forms of energy.
The general objective of the Net Zero Industry Act is to establish the conditions for
scaling up the manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies in the Union, to
support the Union’s 2030 decarbonisation targets and to ensure the security of supply
for net-zero technologies needed to safeguard the resilience of the Union’s energy
system.
The general objective of this proposal translates first through the objective to ensure
the proper functioning of the internal market by setting harmonised rules for the
installation of manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies in the Union.
1.4.2. Specific objective(s)
This Regulation establishes a framework for increasing the competitiveness of the
Union’s industrial base for net-zero technologies and strengthening the Union’s
77
As referred to in Article 58(2)(a) or (b) of the Financial Regulation.
EN 3 EN
contribution to net-zero transition globally, while accelerating the Union’s transition
to low-carbon energy sources, including by decarbonising heavy industries.
The Regulation contains measures to meet a specific objective to ensure that, by
2030, the net-zero technologies manufacturing capacity in the Union approaches or
reaches a benchmark of at least 40% of the Union’s annual deployment needs for the
corresponding technologies necessary to achieve the Union’s 2030 climate and
energy targets.
1.4.3. Expected result(s) and impact
Specify the effects which the proposal/initiative should have on the beneficiaries/groups targeted.
The Net-Zero Industry Act aims to scale up the manufacturing of net-zero
technologies and increase the competitiveness of the net-zero tech industrial base. As
a result this initiatve will strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of our future
decarbonised energy system.
The Net-Zero Industry Act aims at addressing the following core drivers of net-zero
technology manufacturing investments:
• improving investment certainty, policy focus and coordination through the
setting of clear objectives and monitoring mechanisms;
• lowering administrative burden for developing net-zero manufacturing projects
including by streamlining administrative requirements and facilitating permitting,
setting up regulatory sandboxes and ensuring access to information;
• facilitating access to markets by specific measures related to public demand
through public procurement procedures and auctions, as well as through schemes to
supports private demand by consumers;
• facilitating and enabling carbon capture and storage projects, including by
enhancing the availability of CO2 storage sites;
• supporting innovation, including through regulatory sandboxes;
• enhancing skills for net-zero technologies and thereby promoting quality job
creation;
• coordinating net-zero industrial partnerships.
1.4.4. Indicators of performance
Specify the indicators for monitoring progress and achievements.
The Regulation foresees a pillar dedicated to the monitoring of the initiative.
Enhanced cooperation within the European Union will ensure the necessary and
comparable information and data gathering.
The Commission will monitor developments and trends in achieving the respective
objectives for EU net-zero technology manufacturing of the Act. The Commission
will assess the output, results and impact of the initiative after three years. The main
findings of the evaluation will be presented in a report to the European Parliament
and the Council, as well as to the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions. The report will also be made public.
The Commission will also establish a detailed programme for monitoring the
outputs, results and impacts of this Regulation with a monitoring programme setting
out the means and intervals of the data collection.
EN 4 EN
The Commission will monitor the technology developments, market trends and
competitiveness of the EU net-zero technologies, and the impact of this Regulation.
The results of that monitoring and related recommendations will be published on an
annual basis as part of the Annual Reports on Competitiveness of Clean Energy
Technologies.
The Commission will work with Member States regarding increased market
surveillance of product-specific requirements to ensure that only products that are
compliant with Union legislation are placed on the market, ensuring a level playing
field both internally and globally.
To meet the target for annual injection capacity in CO2 storage sites the Commission
will monitor the progress towards reaching the Union-wide target for CO2 injection
capacity and report annually.
The targets stipulated above will be reassessed and the Commission, assisted by the
Net-Zero Europe Platform on a regular basis, will monitor the progress. The Net-
Zero Europe Platform will monitor the performance and contribute to the evaluation.
The Net-Zero Europe Platform will play an important role for gathering evidence
from the industry and EU Member States, and for defining and implementing policy
support for clean energy technology supply chains. The Net-Zero Europe Platform
will also play an important role in monitoring the enhancing of skills through
monitoring the Net-Zero Academies and assessing the demand and supply of a
workforce with the skill sets needed in Net-Zero industries.
Following developments may further be measured in the net-zero industries as part
of the monitoring exercise beyond the core monitoring undertaking by the platform:
• The number of legal entities involved (subdivided by size, type and country of
establishment) in the actions supported by the Initiative.
• The total amount of investment in net-zero industries, including leveraging
funding from both public and private sectors invested.
• The amount of investment by companies taking into consideration the segment
of the value chain in which they operate.
• Monitoring data on projects evolution, demand and supply developments.
• The tenders awarded on the basis of criteria relating to environmental
sustainability, innovation and system integration .
• Monitor reskilling and upskilling activities by the Net-Zero Academies as
supported by the Net-Zero Europe Platform, including the number of learners and
related investments. Monitor the creation of additional jobs in net-zero industries and
their main quality characteristics, including in relation to wages, working conditions,
and industrial relations.
1.5. Grounds for the proposal/initiative
1.5.1. Requirement(s) to be met in the short or long term including a detailed timeline for
roll-out of the implementation of the initiative
The Regulation should be fully applicable shortly after its adoption, i.e. the day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
However, initial elements will be in place before, such as the Net-Zero Europe
Platform, which was set up in November 2022. The Net-Zero Industry Act further
defines the platform’s governing structure.
EN 5 EN
Delegated acts and may be adopted after thorough assessment of impacts and
consultation of stakeholders in order to reflect technological change and market
developments, consistent with the objectives and criteria of the Initiative.
Information gathering from representative organisations of clean technology
manufacturing undertakings should already be on going and Member States have
already discussed a number of possible measures with the Commission to support the
clean technology and net-zero industries in Europe and carry out monitoring of their
value chains.
1.5.2. Added value of Union involvement (it may result from different factors, e.g.
coordination gains, legal certainty, greater effectiveness or complementarities). For
the purposes of this point 'added value of Union involvement' is the value resulting
from Union intervention, which is additional to the value that would have been
otherwise created by Member States alone.
The Green Deal Industrial Plan is based on four pillars, the first of which is made up
by this initiative, the Net Zero Industry Act. This Act is creating a regulatory
environment with simplified and fast-tracked permitting for new clean energy
technologies production sites and facilitates the scaling up of the European net zero
industry.
The increase in uptake of clean energy and net-zero technologies is essential in
helping the EU meet its objective of achieving its Fit for 55 commitments for a
climate-neutral EU by 20503. The transition towards renewable sources of energy is
also key in ensuring the EU a stable energy supply that will support its industry and
ultimately its role in ensuring Member States’ national security. It thereby
contributes to EU’s drive towards Open Strategic Autonomy.
Within the past year, Europe has witnessed disruptions in the supply chains for
renewable energy and net-zero technolgies, causing shortages across multiple
economic sectors and potentially serious societal consequences.
In the net-zero technologies ecosystem, there is relatively little diversification of
supply sources and for some products a high dependency on third country exports.
The EU industry’s market shares are under strong pressure, due to subsidies in third
countries which undermine a level playing field. This initiative will enable
favourable conditions through a number of measures such as shorter permimtting
timelines and increasing public demand. This will help industries in Europe to attract
financing for the net-zero technologies manufacturing. Increased investments into the
European net-zero technology manufacturing is key for establishing a solid industrial
base for net-zero technologies and their supply chains across the EU.
The goal is not only to reduce dependencies, but also to seize the economic
opportunities stemming from the global market for net zero industry technologies
which is expected to reach an annual worth of around EUR 600 billion a year by
2030 according to the International Energy Agency as set out in the Staff Working
Document accompanying the proposal. Furthermore, the Act will increase
competitiveness of the European net-zero industrial ecosystem and of European
industry at large, through the provision of innovative products for European citizens.
The Union has the assets to become an industrial leader in the clean energy and net-
zero technologies market of the future.
Furthermore, this action at EU-level prevents fragmentation between 27 regulatory
approaches and will facilitate with achieving the EU-level climate ambitions.
EN 6 EN
1.5.3. Lessons learned from similar experiences in the past
The Communication: A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age from
Januray 2023 sets out why a strong joint European response to boost the net-zero
industry is needed. As part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the Commission
proposes to put forward a Net-Zero Industry Act to underpin industrial
competitiveness of net zero technologies in the EU.
The starting point for the Plan is the need to massively increase the technological
development, manufacturing production and installation of net-zero industry
technologies in the next decade, and the value added of an EU-wide approach to
meet this challenge together. This is made more difficult by the global competition
for raw materials and skilled personnel. The Plan aims to address this dichotomy by
focusing on the areas where Europe can make the biggest difference. It also seeks to
avert the risk of replacing our reliance on Russian fossil fuels with other strategic
dependencies that could impede our access to key technologies and inputs for the
green transition, through a mix of diversification and own development and
production. The Plan will complement ongoing efforts to transform industry under
the European Green Deal and the EU Industrial strategy, in particular the Circular
Economy Action Plan. Modernising and decarbonising energy-intensive industries
also remains a top priority, as does ensuring job transitions and quality job creation
through training and education.
The EU has traditionally relied on a strong regulatory environment for setting
conducive conditions for business, for providing quality employment for our
workforce and a high level of protection for our environment. These three
dimensions can be mutually reinforcing, if regulation is balanced and smartly
designed, which requires continuous attention. This is why the Commission has
introduced a 'competitiveness check' on all new regulation to ensure that all potential
competitiveness impacts are addressed. A simple, predictable and clear regulatory
environment is key to promoting investment.
1.5.4. Compatibility with the Multiannual Financial Framework and possible synergies
with other appropriate instruments
The Commission and the Member States shall undertake activities to facilitate
conditions to foster investment for the EU net-zero industry supply chain. These
activities will in particular focus on accelerating investment in Net-Zero Strategic
Projects.
The Net-Zero Industry Platform will help the Commission and the Member States to
identify bottlenecks and potential best practices, notably based on regular exchanges
with the relevant industrial alliances, such as the alliances on batteries, on solar
panels, and the Electrolyser Partnership.
The initiative intends to support mobilising funds that fall under the following titles
of the Multiannual Financial Framework:
Heading 1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital: Title 2 European Strategic
Investments
_InvestEU Fund
Heading 1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital: Title 3 Single Market
_Single Market Programme
EN 7 EN
Heading 2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values: Title 5 Regional Development and
Cohesion
_European Regional Development Fund
Heading 2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values: Title 6 Recovery and Resilience
_Recovery and Resilience Facility
Heading 2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values: 7 Investing in People, Social Cohesion
and Values
_European Social Fund
Heading 3 Natural Resources and Environment: Title 9 Environment and Climate
Action
_Just Transition Fund
Under NextGenerationEU, the 27 national recovery and resilience plans funded by
the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) already make available EUR 250 billion
for green measures, including investments supporting the decarbonisation of
industry. Horizon Europe dedicates EUR 40 billion to Green Deal research and
innovation, also in partnership with industry. Cohesion policies make around EUR
85 billion available for green transition, including the Just Transition Fund. The
Commission will further facilitate the swift mobilisation of Cohesion investments in
support of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, including by speeding up the design and
reimbursements of energy efficiency and renewable projects through standard
reimbursement schemes. To date, these EU funding sources have largely benefitted
research and innovation and deployment of renewable energy and related
infrastructures, rather than targeting manufacturing capacity in the sector. Funding
for net-zero industrial value chains can be stepped up in scale and speed. But to
avoid fragmenting the Single Market due to varying levels of national support – and
varying capacities to grant such support – there also needs to be adequate EU-level
funding to facilitate the flourishing of such industrial value chains across the Union
as a whole.
1.5.5. Assessment of the different available financing options, including scope for
redeployment
The initiative falls under the Green Deal Industrial Plan which sets out support for
the European net-zero industry. The financing options set out in the section are not
dependent on the proposal, but may be carried out on the basis of previously existing
legislation linked to this proposal.
The proposal aims to enhance the competitiveness of Europe's net-zero industry and
support the fast transition to climate neutrality. The Plan aims to provide a more
supportive environment for the scaling up of the EU's industial capacity for the net-
zero technologies and products required to meet Europe's ambitious climate targets.
The plan builds on previous initiatives and relies on the strengths of the EU Single
Market, complementing ongoing efforts under the European Green Deal which
recognises the advantages of investing in our competitive sustainability by building a
fairer, greener and more digital Europe. It also supplements efforts under the
REPowerEU which was the EU’s response to the hardships and global energy market
disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the aim to transform
Europe's energy system through ending the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels
EN 8 EN
and tackling the climate crisis. Overall, this will result in increased energy savings,
diversification of energy supplies, and accelerated rollout of low carbon energy.
In the plan, the Commission announced its intention to allow further flexibility for
the Member States to grant State aid limited to carefully defined areas and on a
temporary basis. With regard to state aid, the plan explains that EU competition
policy provides tools to support the development and deployment of key cutting edge
technologies, including training, strategic for the green and digital transitions, while
preserving the integrity of the Single Market and respecting EU’s international
obligations.
The Commission will consult Member States on a proposal to adapt State aid rules
on a temporary basis, until end 2025, to further speed up and simplify, with easier
calculations, simpler procedures, and accelerated approvals. These changes will also
assist Member States in delivering on specific projects under National Recovery
Plans which fall within their scope. The plan further explains that, to accelerate the
roll-out of new projects, the approval of IPCEI related projects will be further
streamlined and simplified.
There are a number of instruments that are linked to the Net-Zero Industry Act and
may be carried out on the basis of existing legislation.
InvestEU
The InvestEU Programme is well placed to boost net-zero investments in the EU.
InvestEU is the Union’s instrument for catalysing private investments in EU priority
areas. Through the EIB, the EIF, the EBRD and 14 other implementing partners, the
EU supports public and private investments in net-zero tech and industrial
innovation.
Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund supports the development and first-of-a-kind deployment of
technologies and solutions that decarbonise energy intensive industry, boost
renewable energy and energy storage (including batteries and hydrogen) and
strengthen net-zero supply chains by supporting the manufacturing of critical
components for batteries, wind and solar energy, electrolysers, fuel cells and heat
pumps.
Important projects of common European interest (IPCEI)
IPCEI may represent an important contribution to the achievement of strategic
objectives of the Union, notably in view of their positive spillover effects. IPCEIs
can make it possible to bring together Member States and stakeholders throughout
the Union, so as to overcome important market or systemic failures and societal
challenges which could not otherwise be addressed.
European Sovereignty Fund
For the mid-term, the Commission intends to give a structural answer to the
investment needs, by proposing a European Sovereignty Fund in the context of the
review of the Multi-annual financial framework before summer 2023. Moreover, the
Commission is assessing how the overall funding for InvestEU could be increased, in
particular for the period covering 2024-2027.
To close the investment-gap for the net-zero transition, these initiatives aim at
attracting private funding to complement the achievement of the targets.
EN 9 EN
As detailed below, the implementation of this piece of legislation will require
additional human resources and aldo some supporting expenditure.
EN 10 EN
1.6. Duration and financial impact of the proposal/initiative
limited duration
– in effect from [DD/MM]YYYY to [DD/MM]YYYY
– Financial impact from YYYY to YYYY for commitment appropriations and
from YYYY to YYYY for payment appropriations.
unlimited duration
– Implementation with a start-up period from YYYY to YYYY,
– followed by full-scale operation.
1.7. Method(s) of budget implementation planned78
Direct management by the Commission
– by its departments, including by its staff in the Union delegations;
– by the executive agencies
Shared management with the Member States
Indirect management by entrusting budget implementation tasks to:
– third countries or the bodies they have designated;
– international organisations and their agencies (to be specified);
– the EIB and the European Investment Fund;
– bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of the Financial Regulation;
– public law bodies;
– bodies governed by private law with a public service mission to the extent that
they are provided with adequate financial guarantees;
– bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with
the implementation of a public-private partnership and that are provided with
adequate financial guarantees;
– bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the
CFSP pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act.
– If more than one management mode is indicated, please provide details in the ‘Comments’ section.
Comments
78
Details of budget implementation methods and references to the Financial Regulation may be found on
the BUDGpedia site: https://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/corp/budget/financial-rules/budget-
implementation/Pages/implementation-methods.aspx
EN 11 EN
2. MANAGEMENT MEASURES
2.1. Monitoring and reporting rules
Specify frequency and conditions.
This Legislative Financial Statement includes staff expenditure, procurement and
possibly administrative arrangements. Standard rules for this type of expenditure
apply. The Commission will evaluate the output, results and impact of this proposal
three years after the date on which it becomes applicable. In order to conduct the
evaluation, the Net Zero Europe Platform, Member States and national competent
authorities will provide information to the Commission on its request.
2.2. Management and control system(s)
2.2.1. Justification of the management mode(s), the funding implementation mechanism(s),
the payment modalities and the control strategy proposed
The management mode for the initiative is direct management by the Commission.
The Commission will be assisted by the governing body, which is the Net-Zero
Europe Platform with Member States representatives and stakeholders. In summary,
the initiative requires staff expenditure, procurement and possibly administrative
arrangements. Standard rules for this type of expenditure apply.
2.2.2. Information concerning the risks identified and the internal control system(s) set up
to mitigate them
Overall, the initiative requires staff expenditure, expenditures for studies and
research, seed funding to support the creation and functioning of Net-Zero
Academies and other administrative arrangements. Standard rules for this type of
expenditure apply.
Most aspects of the initiative follow standard procedures for procuring technical
support, involving stakeholders and the adoption of secondary legislation. The main
risk, already illustrated in the past, is insufficient human resources to implement
working plans.
This proposal is not accompanied by a formal impact assessment. Considering the
urgency to act for the reasons explained above, an impact assessment could not have
been delivered in the timeframe available prior to the adoption of the proposal. The
analysis is set out in the Staff Working Document on ‘Investment needs assessment
and funding availabilities to strengthen EU’s net-zero technology manufacturing
capacity’ accompanying this proposal. The preparation of this initiative included a
targeted stakeholder consultation and long-standing and regular contacts with
industry stakeholders, Member States and trade associations enabled the collection of
a fair amount of information and feedback relevant to the proposal. Despite the
consideration of input relevant for the proposal’s policy options, unintentional
consequences and impacts of this initiative may still occur in the future. The
Commission intends to identify such as soon as they may occur through the robust
monitoring procedures laid out in the Regulation and will address any unintentional
consequences with suitable means and actions.
EN 12 EN
2.2.3. Estimation and justification of the cost-effectiveness of the controls (ratio of "control
costs ÷ value of the related funds managed"), and assessment of the expected levels
of risk of error (at payment & at closure)
Overall, the initiative requires staff expenditure, possibly procurement and possibly
administrative arrangements. Standard rules for this type of expenditure apply.
2.3. Measures to prevent fraud and irregularities
Specify existing or envisaged prevention and protection measures, e.g. from the Anti-Fraud Strategy.
The Commission will ensure that procedures to fight against fraud at all stages of the
management process are applied by the Net-Zero Europe Platform as the governing
body.
The Commission will ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that, when
actions financed under the relevant acts, taking into consideration the Net-Zero
Industry Act are implemented, the financial interest of the Union is protected by the
application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal
activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of
the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and
deterrent penalties.
The Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and
on-the-spot checks, relating to the Programme. The European Anti-fraud Office
(OLAF) may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections on economic operators
concerned directly or indirectly by such funding in accordance with the procedures
laid down in Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 and Regulation 883/2013 with a
view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal
activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant
agreement or grant decision or a contract concerning Union funding. The Joint
Undertakings will also need to accede to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 25 May
1999 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the
Commission of the European Communities concerning internal investigations by the
European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF). The European Public Prosecutor’s Office
(EPPO) may carry out investigations in accordance with the provisions and
procedures laid down in Council Regulation (EU) 2017/193923, with a view to
investigating criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union.
EN 13 EN
3. ESTIMATED FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL/INITIATIVE
3.1. Heading(s) of the multiannual financial framework and expenditure budget
line(s) affected
Existing budget lines
In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.
Type of
Budget line expenditur Contribution
e
Heading
of from
multiannu candidate
al from
Number countries fromothe
financial Diff./Non- EFTA other assigned
and r third
framework diff.79 countries revenue
80 potential countries
candidates
81
03.02.01.01 Diff./No YES/N YES/N
1 O
YES/NO
O
YES/NO
n-diff.
03.02.02.00 Diff./No YES/N YES/N
1 O
YES/NO
O
YES/NO
n-diff.
01.02.02.54 Diff./No YES/N YES/N
1 O
YES/NO
O
YES/NO
n-diff.
New budget lines requested
In order of multiannual financial framework headings and budget lines.
Heading of
multiannual Type of
financial
Budget line expenditure
Contribution
framework
from
candidate from
Number from
Diff./Non- countries other other assigned
EFTA
diff. and third revenue
countries
potential countries
candidates
79
Diff. = Differentiated appropriations / Non-diff. = Non-differentiated appropriations.
80
EFTA: European Free Trade Association.
81
Candidate countries and, where applicable, potential candidates from the Western Balkans.
EN 14 EN
3.2. Estimated financial impact of the proposal on appropriations
3.2.1. Summary of estimated impact on operational appropriations
– The proposal/initiative does not require the use of operational appropriations
– The proposal/initiative requires the use of operational appropriations, as explained below:
EUR million (to three decimal places)
Heading of multiannual financial
Number
framework
Year Enter as many years as
Year Year Year Year
DG: GROW 2023 necessary to show the duration TOTAL
2024 2025 2026 2027 of the impact (see point 1.6)
Operational appropriations
Budget line82 03.020101 - Operation and
Commitments (1a) 0,180 0,180 0,180 0,180 0.720
development of the internal market of goods
and services Payments (2a) 0.060 0.180 0.180 0.180 0.120 0.720
Commitments (1b) 2.500 2.500
Budget line 03.02.02.00 – Single Market
Programme SME Pillar Payments (2b) 0.500 2.000 2.500
Commitments (1b) 3.000 3.000
Budget line 01 02 02 54 - Clean Hydrogen
Joint Undertaking Payments (2b) 0.750 2.250 3.000
Appropriations of an administrative nature financed from the
envelope of specific programmes83
Budget line (3)
82
According to the official budget nomenclature.
83
Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research.
EN 15 EN
=1a+1b 5.500
Commitments +3 0,180 0,180 0,180 0,180 6.220
TOTAL appropriations
for DG GROW =2a+2b
Payments 1.25 4.310 0.180 0.180 0.180 0.120 6.220
+3
Commitments (4) 5.500 0,180 0,180 0,180 0.180 6.220
TOTAL operational appropriations
Payments (5) 1.250 4.310 0.180 0.180 0.180 0.120
TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature (6)
financed from the envelope for specific programmes
TOTAL appropriations Commitments =4+ 6 5.500 0,180 0,180 0,180 0.180 6.220
under HEADING 1
of the multiannual financial framework Payments =5+ 6 1.250 4.310 0.180 0.180 0.180 0.120 6.220
If more than one operational heading is affected by the proposal / initiative, repeat the section above:
TOTAL operational appropriations (all Commitments (4)
operational headings) Payments (5)
TOTAL appropriations of an administrative nature financed
from the envelope for specific programmes (all operational
headings) (6)
Commitments =4+ 6
TOTAL appropriations
under HEADINGS 1 to 6 Payments =5+ 6
of the multiannual financial framework
(Reference amount) Payments =5+ 6
Heading of multiannual financial
7 ‘Administrative expenditure’
framework
EN 16 EN
This section should be filled in using the 'budget data of an administrative nature' to be firstly introduced in the Annex to the Legislative
Financial Statement (Annex 5 to the Commission decision on the internal rules for the implementation of the Commission section of the general
budget of the European Union), which is uploaded to DECIDE for interservice consultation purposes.
EUR million (to three decimal places)
Year Enter as many years as
Year Year Year Year
2023 necessary to show the duration TOTAL
2024 2025 2026 2027 of the impact (see point 1.6)
DG: GROW
Human resources 0.513 0.513 0.513 0.513 0.513 2.565
Other administrative expenditure 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.125
TOTAL DG GROW Appropriations 0.538 0.538 0.538 0.538 0.538 2.69
Year Enter as many years as
Year Year Year Year
2023 necessary to show the duration TOTAL
2024 2025 2026 2027 of the impact (see point 1.6)
DG: ENER
Human resources 0.513 0.513 0.513 0.513 0.513 2.565
Other administrative expenditure
TOTAL DG ENER Appropriations 0.513 0.513 0.513 0.513 0.513 2.565
TOTAL appropriations
(Total commitments =
under HEADING 7 Total payments)
1.051 1.051 1.051 1.051 1.051 5.255
of the multiannual financial framework
EUR million (to three decimal places)
EN 17 EN
Year Enter as many years as
Year Year Year Year
2023 necessary to show the duration TOTAL
202484 2025 2026 2027 of the impact (see point 1.6)
TOTAL appropriations Commitments 5.500 1.231 1.231 1.231 1.231 1.051 11.457
under HEADINGS 1 to 7
1.250 5.361 1.231 1.231 1.231 1.171
of the multiannual financial framework Payments 11.457
3.2.2. Estimated output funded with operational appropriations
Commitment appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)
Year Year Year Year Enter as many years as necessary to show the
TOTAL
N N+1 N+2 N+3 duration of the impact (see point 1.6)
Indicate
objectives and OUTPUTS
outputs
Avera
Type85 Total Total
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
ge Cost Cost Cost Cost Cost Cost Cost
No cost
cost
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 186…
- Output
- Output
- Output
Subtotal for specific objective No 1
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE No 2 ...
84
Year N is the year in which implementation of the proposal/initiative starts. Please replace "N" by the expected first year of implementation (for instance: 2021). The same for the
following years.
85
Outputs are products and services to be supplied (e.g.: number of student exchanges financed, number of km of roads built, etc.).
86
As described in point 1.4.2. ‘Specific objective(s)…’
EN 18 EN
- Output
Subtotal for specific objective No 2
TOTALS
EN 19 EN
3.2.3. Summary of estimated impact on administrative appropriations
– The proposal/initiative does not require the use of appropriations of an
administrative nature
– The proposal/initiative requires the use of appropriations of an administrative
nature, as explained below:
EUR million (to three decimal places)
Year
Year Year Year Year Enter as many years as necessary to show
2023 TOTAL
2024 87 2025 2026 2027 the duration of the impact (see point 1.6)
HEADING 7
of the multiannual
financial framework
Human resources 1.026 1.026 1.026 1.026 1.026 5.13
Other administrative
expenditure
0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.125
Subtotal HEADING 7
of the multiannual 1.051 1.051 1.051 1.051 1.051 5.255
financial framework
Outside HEADING
788
of the multiannual
financial framework
Human resources
Other expenditure
of an administrative
nature
Subtotal
outside HEADING 7
of the multiannual
financial framework
Outside HEADING
789
of the multiannual
financial framework
Human resources
87
Year N is the year in which implementation of the proposal/initiative starts. Please replace "N" by the expected first
year of implementation (for instance: 2021). The same for the following years.
88
Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes
and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research.
89
Technical and/or administrative assistance and expenditure in support of the implementation of EU programmes
and/or actions (former ‘BA’ lines), indirect research, direct research.
EN 20 EN
Other expenditure
of an administrative
nature
Subtotal
outside HEADING 7
of the multiannual
financial framework
TOTAL 1.051 1.051 1.051 1.051 1.051 5.255
The appropriations required for human resources and other expenditure of an administrative nature will be met by
appropriations from the DG that are already assigned to management of the action and/or have been redeployed within the
DG, together if necessary with any additional allocation which may be granted to the managing DG under the annual
allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary constraints.
EN 21 EN
3.2.3.1. Estimated requirements of human resources
– The proposal/initiative does not require the use of human resources.
– The proposal/initiative requires the use of human resources, as explained
below:
Estimate to be expressed in full time equivalent units
Enter as many years as
Year Year Year Year
necessary to show the duration
2024 2025 2026 2027
of the impact (see point 1.6)
Establishment plan posts (officials and temporary staff)
20 01 02 01 (Headquarters and Commission’s Representation
Offices) 6 6 6 6 6
20 01 02 03 (Delegations)
01 01 01 01 (Indirect research)
01 01 01 11 (Direct research)
Other budget lines (specify)
External staff (in Full Time Equivalent unit: FTE)90
20 02 01 (AC, END, INT from the ‘global envelope’)
20 02 03 (AC, AL, END, INT and JPD in the delegations)
- at Headquarters
XX 01 xx yy zz 91
- in Delegations
01 01 01 02 (AC, END, INT - Indirect research)
01 01 01 12 (AC, END, INT - Direct research)
Other budget lines (specify)
TOTAL 6 6 6 6 6
XX is the policy area or budget title concerned.
The human resources required will be met by staff from the DG who are already assigned to management of the
action and/or have been redeployed within the DG, together if necessary with any additional allocation which
may be granted to the managing DG under the annual allocation procedure and in the light of budgetary
constraints.
Description of tasks to be carried out:
Officials and temporary staff The three officials of DG GROW foreseen under this Act will be in charge of
coordinating and organising the Net-Zero Europe Platform. The responsibilities of the
Platform are estalished in the Act. This will foster the exertion of the measures under
this initiative and overlook and monitor the developments of the net-zero technology
manufacturing base.
The three officials from DG ENER will participate in the work of the Platform,
provide feedback on the net-zero strategic projects and support the monitoring of the
Act through the Annual Reports on the Competitiveness of Clean Energy
Technologies.
90
AC= Contract Staff; AL = Local Staff; END= Seconded National Expert; INT = agency staff;
JPD= Junior Professionals in Delegations.
91
Sub-ceiling for external staff covered by operational appropriations (former ‘BA’ lines).
EN 22 EN
External staff
EN 23 EN
3.2.4. Compatibility with the current multiannual financial framework
The proposal/initiative:
– can be fully financed through redeployment within the relevant heading of the
Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
Explain what reprogramming is required, specifying the budget lines concerned and the corresponding
amounts. Please provide an excel table in the case of major reprogramming.
– requires use of the unallocated margin under the relevant heading of the MFF
and/or use of the special instruments as defined in the MFF Regulation.
Explain what is required, specifying the headings and budget lines concerned, the corresponding
amounts, and the instruments proposed to be used.
– requires a revision of the MFF.
Explain what is required, specifying the headings and budget lines concerned and the corresponding
amounts.
3.2.5. Third-party contributions
The proposal/initiative:
– does not provide for co-financing by third parties
– provides for the co-financing by third parties estimated below:
Appropriations in EUR million (to three decimal places)
Enter as many years as necessary
Year Year Year Year
to show the duration of the Total
N92 N+1 N+2 N+3
impact (see point 1.6)
Specify the co-financing
body
TOTAL appropriations
co-financed
92
Year N is the year in which implementation of the proposal/initiative starts. Please replace "N" by the
expected first year of implementation (for instance: 2021). The same for the following years.
EN 24 EN
3.3. Estimated impact on revenue
– The proposal/initiative has no financial impact on revenue.
– The proposal/initiative has the following financial impact:
– on own resources
– on other revenue
– please indicate, if the revenue is assigned to expenditure lines
EUR million (to three decimal places)
Appropriations Impact of the proposal/initiative93
available for
Budget revenue line:
the current Year Year Year Year Enter as many years as necessary to show
financial year N N+1 N+2 N+3 the duration of the impact (see point 1.6)
Article …………. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m.
For assigned revenue, specify the budget expenditure line(s) affected.
Other remarks (e.g. method/formula used for calculating the impact on revenue or any other
information).
93
As regards traditional own resources (customs duties, sugar levies), the amounts indicated must be net
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20 % for collection costs.
EN 25 EN
EN 26 EN
Kliimaneutraalse tööstuse õigusakt (Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN
ANDMED Nimetus
PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing a framework of measures for
ALGATUSE strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero
KOHTA
Industry Act))
Eelnõu nr COM(2023) 161 Esitamise kuupäev: 16.03.2023 Menetluskord EL-is: tavamenetlus
1
RKKTS § 152 lg 1
1. p1
- algatuse/teatise reguleerimisala nõuab seaduse või Riigikogu otsuse vastuvõtmist, muutmist või kehtetuks tunnistamist
SEISUKOHA 2. RKKTS § 1521 lg 1
- algatuse/ vastuvõtmisega või teatises toodud meetmete rakendamisega kaasneb oluline majanduslik , sotsiaalne või muu mõju
VALITSUSSE p2
TOOMISE ALUS 3. RKKTS § 1521 lg 2 - Euroopa Liidu asjade komisjoni või väliskomisjoni nõue
4. VVS § 201 lg 1 - algatuse/teatise reguleerimisala nõuab VV pädevusse kuuluva otsuse vastuvõtmist (määruse vastuvõtmine, muutmine, tühistamine)
5. VVS § 201 lg 2 - seisukoha võtmist algatuse/teatise osas peab oluliseks peaminister või minister (on poliitiliselt oluline või tundlik (Eestis või EL-is))
VALITSUSELE
Kuupäev
10.05 KOK, 18.05 EL menetluse
ESITAMINE VV ajakava
KEM, HTM, RM,
SISERIIKLIK Vastutav Kaasatud Sotsiaalpartnerid, Kaasata kõik asjasse puutuvad
MENETLUS min MKM ministeeriumid JM (sisendi andmise huvigrupid partnerid ja huvigrupid
tähtaeg 24.04)
EELNÕU ÜLEVAADE
KOKKUV Määruse eesmärgiks on senisest kiiremini tuua ELis turule tehnoloogiaid, mis on vajalikud
ÕTE kliimaneutraalsuseni jõudmiseks, vähendades EL sõltuvusi. Eelnõu keskendub puhta energia
EELÕU tehnoloogia ökosüsteemi neile osadele, mis aitaksid enim kaasa tarneahela vastupidavusele.
SISUST Tehnoloogiad, millele määrus kohaldub, on loetletud määruse lisas: päikeseenergia, akud/salvestid,
JA tuuleenergia, elektrolüsaatorid ja kütuseelemendid, soojuspumbad, biogaas, võrgud ja süsiniku
EESMÄR kinnipüüdmise, ladustamise ja taaskasutamise tehnoloogiad. Määrusega lihtsustatakse ja
KIDEST kiirendatakse haldusprotsesse nullheitetehnoloogia tootmisprojektide jaoks (sh ühtne
kontaktpunkt), täiendatakse rakendusalas olevate tehnoloogiatega seotud hankemenetluse reegleid,
seatakse süsinikdioksiidi ladustamisvõimekuse sihttasemed, kehtestatakse
regulatiivtestkeskkondade nõuded ja luuakse Nullheite Euroopa Platvorm ning
nullheiteakadeemiad.
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VÕIMALIKUD
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MÕJU EELARVELE
KOMMENTAARID
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1/1 Alustatud: 03/28/2023 Muudetud: 29.03.2023