A delegation from EGGA - Galvanizing Europe has met with Miguel Garcia Jones, member of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra’s Cabinet for Climate, Net Zero, and Clean Growth to explore the support that could be given to SMEs within Europe’s batch hot dip galvanizing industry - to ensure that we can continue to provide the long-term durability and circularity for steel products.

The Commission’s support for the steel production sector is clear in the recently proposed steel safeguard measures. Our discussions with Miguel Garcia Jones on 14 October went further – recognising that galvanizing is a low energy process that is unique in preserving those vital steel assets in construction, infrastructure and net zero technologies, such as solar mounting structures.

We also discussed the role of the Innovation Fund in driving industrial decarbonisation and the need to find policy instruments that can also extend this stimulus to SMEs in the steel value chain.

We are looking forward to following up on the constructive ideas discussed and to bringing these ideas towards other policy areas – including the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act, Circular Economy Act and the Steel & Metals Action Plan.

We are grateful to Miguel Garcia Jones and Ewelina Daniel from DG CLIMA Innovation Fund for responding so constructively to the points raised by Lello Pernice (Associazione Italiana Zincatura), Chair EGGA Climate, Energy and Environment Committee.