According to a statement released by the company, referring to the European Union's Steel and Metal Action Plan published in 2023, member states were advised to take national measures to stabilize electricity prices, noting that this mechanism has long been underutilized in Austria.
Herbert Eibensteiner, voestalpine's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), emphasized that electricity price compensation is not a subsidy, but a legal instrument guaranteed by European law and intended to protect industrial regions, and stated: "Electricity price compensation is a critical element for the competitiveness and investment decisions of energy-intensive companies like us. If we want to guarantee the future of our 23,600 employees in Austria today, this mechanism is essential."
voestalpine contributes EUR 21.5 billion in production volume and EUR 2.4 billion in taxes and social contributions annually, and argues that a strong industrial policy framework is needed to sustain this contribution.
14 EU Members Implement, Austria Left Behind
In the European Union, 14 countries, including Germany, have been implementing electricity price compensation for years, and most countries have extended it until 2030. Austria, however, only allows a temporary retroactive application for 2022. In Germany, the use of national emissions trading revenues for electricity price compensation is legally guaranteed.
Eibensteiner noted that this situation has severely hampered energy-intensive sectors in Austria: "We are losing customers. Especially our customers in Europe do not want to bear the additional costs. Therefore, we expect politicians to take concrete steps for fair competition."
Limited Support for EUR 1.5 Billion Transformation Project
voestalpine is in the first phase of the transition from conventional blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces. This conversion significantly increases energy consumption and makes the company more dependent on electricity costs, both directly and indirectly.
The company describes this transformation program, called greentec steel, with a total investment of EUR 1.5 billion, as Austria's largest climate protection project, pointing out that it has so far only received less than EUR 100 million in support for this project.
In the last four years, voestalpine has paid EUR 1 billion to the state for carbon certificates, a figure that is expected to exceed EUR 2 billion by 2030. The company calls it a “punitive tax” if these payments are not channeled into climate and environmental protection.
The statement emphasized that in order for Austria to maintain its economic strength and employment, a trust-based cooperation framework between industry and politics must be established.
About voestalpine
With around 500 subsidiaries and plants in more than 50 countries worldwide, voestalpine offers high-end products and system solutions for the automotive, consumer goods, aerospace and energy industries. The global leader in railway systems, tool steels and specialty profiles generated revenues of EUR 16.7 billion and EBITDA of EUR 1.7 billion in fiscal year 2023/24. The company has approximately 51,600 employees worldwide.
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