«Decarbonization and industrial transition. A European fund is needed»

by | Jul 20, 2021 | Press review

Antonio’s Gozzi interview with Il Sole 24 Ore

 

In the interview published on Il Sole 24 Ore on Sunday, July 18., President Antonio Gozzi dealt with the issues of decarbonization and industrial transition. Speaking with journalist Raoul de Forcade he indeed presented the tools to make the transition real through a sustainable process which could overcome the unreal and fatal path often outlined in debate. According to the president of Duferco Italia, the priority is to support those industries that otherwise risk to be dead by 2030. Therefore, European institutions should establish a fund for industrial transition to help endangered sectors reach decarbonizing goals: otherwise, the risk is for them to close and delocalize.

 

We need Europe to arrange an industrial transition fund. European institutions should seriously deal with the issue, establishing a fund for industrial transition to help most endangered fields to accomplish decarbonizing projects. Because in the present situation, there is a real danger of closures and delocalization. We just heard the cry of the ceramic industry: all their plants are powered by gas and cannot be electrified. Productions which are indeed our excellence are at risk of relocating abroad. This is true for the ceramic field, but also for paper and cement industries. The electric steel industry, which represents the 80% of Italian production of steel, is in a better position. Still, it uses gas powered reheating furnaces, which cannot be electrified. Therefore it needs green fuel, such as biogas and biomethane. Investments are therefore needed while hydrogen becomes the fuel of the future. In the meantime we need to get to 2030.