What Future for Steelmaking in the EU? - In Person Event
06 March 2025 12:15 – 17:00
Press Club, Rue Froissart 95, Brussels
Register HERE
The European Commission has outlined ambitious legislative proposals, including the Clean Industrial Deal and the Steel and Metals Action Plan , to establish an enabling framework for industries to decarbonise while navigating the complexities of an increasingly competitive global landscape. Yet, critical challenges remain. Hydrogen, the indispensable cornerstone for achieving near-zero emissions in ore-based steel production, is not being produced at scale, with key projects facing cancellations. Concurrently, shrinking demand, escalating competition, and persistently high energy prices are leading to mothballed steel mills and delayed decarbonisation strategies . Achieving the transition of all current BF-BOF production to H2-DRI would necessitate approximately 300 TWh of fossil-free electricity—posing an unprecedented transformative challenge for the industry.
Against this backdrop, national and EU policymakers must address policy inefficiencies and forge a cohesive vision of resilience and competitiveness . This panel discussion will explore how to reconcile the decarbonisation of ore- and scrap-based steelmaking considering fiscal realities, strategic priorities, employment imperatives, and geopolitical considerations.
Programme of the day
12:15 - 13:00 Registration and Lunch
13:00 - 13:05 Welcome remarks by Julian Parodi, Policy Specialist, EPICO KlimaInnovation
13:05 - 13:15 Keynote Speech: "The importance of a more European industrial policy and the potential of the Clean Industrial Deal "
Brigitte van ben Berg , MEP13:15 - 13:25 Keynote Speech: "The EU's role in driving steel decarbonisation and innovation "
Alexandre Paquot , Director, Innovation for a Low Carbon Resilient Economy, DG CLIMA, European Commission13:25 - 14:25 Panel Discussion: "What does resilience mean for primary steelmaking and how much hydrogen is needed ?"
Axel Eggert , Director General, EUROFEROla Hansén , Public Affairs Director, StegraLukas Wernert , Hydrogen Team Leader, DG ENER, European CommissionAnais Faucher , Policy Adviser, SolarPower EuropeJulian Parodi , Policy Specialist, EPICO KlimaInnovation (moderator)14:25 - 14:40 Coffee Break
14:40 - 15:40 Panel Discussion "Improving circularity in the steel sector: challenges and opportunities "
Julia Ettinger , Secretary General, EuRICAurel Ciobanu-Dordea , Director, Circular Economy, DG ENV, European CommissionXavier Le Den , Market Director, RambollAlexandre Marin , European Affairs Manager, RIVA GroupParul Kumar , Deputy Executive Director, EPICO KlimaInnovation (moderator)15:40 - 15:50 Closing remarks by Parul Kumar , Deputy Executive Director, EPICO KlimaInnovation
16:00 - 17:00 Networking reception and drinks
Meet our Panellists
Julia Ettinger Secretary General, EuRIC
Julia Ettinger joined the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) in December 2018 and became Secretary General in April 2024. She is a fully qualified lawyer in Germany and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from George Mason University, Virginia. She gained experience at the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency in Washington, DC, and a Brussels-based consultancy advising multinational companies on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) matters. At EuRIC, she focuses on regulatory, policy, and legal issues critical to the recycling industry.
Anaïs Faucher Policy Adviser, SolarPower Europe
Anaïs Faucher works as a Policy Advisor, specializing in Renewable Hydrogen, Electrification, and, more broadly, System Integration at SolarPower Europe. As part of the Renewable Hydrogen and Electrification Workstream, Anaïs coordinates efforts to deploy electrification and renewable hydrogen in hard-to-abate sectors. Before joining SolarPower Europe, Anaïs was a Policy Advisor at Eurogas, where she worked on various files, including renewable gases and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). She also completed an internship at the German National Regulatory Authority, where she contributed to the International and European legal coordination team. Anaïs holds a Master's degree in European Law from the University of Lille in France.
Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea Director, Circular Economy, DG ENV, European Commission
Since May 2022 he is the Director in charge of Circular Economy in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment. Between January 2014 and April 2022 he worked as the Director in charge of enforcement, cohesion and the European Semester in the same DG. Before that he was the Director for Equality in the Directorate-General for Justice since April 2011, in charge of equality and fight against discrimination, after having been the Director for Fundamental Rights and EU Citizenship within the same DG and in DG Justice, Freedom and Security since June 2009. He joined the European Commission in 2009. He holds an LL.M. from the University of Illinois (US) and a Ph.D. from the University of Bucharest (RO).
Axel Eggert Director General, EUROFER
Axel Eggert is Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), a post he has held since 2014, having initially joined the association in 2007 as Director of Public Affairs and Communication. A German national holding degrees from his studies of modern history, economics and law, Mr Eggert has extensive experience, having worked 8 years in the European Parliament prior to his leadership at EUROFER. Mr Eggert is also Vice-President and Member of the Board of ESTEP, The European SteelTechnology Platform.
Lukas Wernert Hydrogen Team Leader, DG ENER, European Commission
Lukas Wernert is hydrogen policy lead in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy. During the academic year 2023-2024 he was a European Union Fellow at the University of California Davis with a research focus on US hydrogen support measures. Prior to that, Lukas led the identification of the first list of EU hydrogen priority infrastructure projects (Projects of common interest/projects of mutual interest under the TEN-E Regulation). Lukas has long-standing experience in EU policy development and implementation (energy, external relations, justice and home affairs). He started his career in risk controlling in the Austrian Ministry of Finance. Lukas holds Master’s degrees in International Management and European Politics and Administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (Austria) and the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium).
Ola Hansén Public Affairs Director, Stegra
Ola is leading Stegra’s policy work on the EU and global level. At Stegra he is advocating for policy developments that create a level playing field for new decarbonizing technologies and that promote the commercialization of green innovations. He is a knowledgeable sustainability and public affairs professional with more than 20 years of experience in the policy fields of climate, energy, environment, transport and industry as well as in cleantech investments. He has had managerial and expert roles at governmental agencies, private sector (e.g. PwC), research institutes (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute) and civil society (WWF). Ola has a MSc in Environmental Management and Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
Xavier Le Den Market Director, Ramboll
Xavier Le Den is a Director at Ramboll’s Strategic Sustainability Consulting division, where he specialises in sustainability transitions across the public and private sectors. His work drives climate action by integrating carbon reduction and removal strategies within the built environment and industrial landscapes. Xavier advises international organizations, governments, industry associations, and NGOs, consistently delivering impactful, science-based solutions on decarbonising materials, buildings and infrastructure in the EU. Notably, he played a key role in guiding the European Commission’s development of an ambitious EU roadmap for reducing whole‐life carbon in buildings and in establishing an EU-wide certification scheme for carbon removals. His expertise also extends to designing emission reduction pathways and strategic roadmaps for diverse segments of European industry and construction. A regular speaker at global conferences, Xavier further enriches academic discourse as a lecturer at the Catholic University of Leuven.
Alexandre Marin European Affairs Manager, Riva Group
Alexandre Marin holds a Master’s degree in EU Law from IEP Strasbourg and the Law Faculty of Strasbourg and studied at Sciences Po Paris (Ecole d’affaires publiques). Early in his career, he worked as temporary staff at the French Ministry of Finance. For the past three years, he has served as the Head of European Affairs at Riva Group, focusing on energy, industrial and trade policy. Additionally, he chairs the Electricity Task Force and is the vice-chair of the Energy Committee at EUROFER, the European Federation of steel producers.
