Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, handed over the first climate protection contracts to companies at an event at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).
This will enable them to start their transformation projects. The companies receiving funding come from all over Germany, and in addition to large-scale industry, medium-sized companies are also represented. They are intended to be pioneers in the transition to CO2-neutral production.
Federal Minister Robert Habeck said, "The first climate protection agreements have been signed. This makes Germany an international pioneer: We are the first member state of the European Union to apply climate protection agreements to efficiently promote and advance the decarbonization of industry. Now 15 concrete future projects can be launched by companies that clearly set the course for decarbonization. The climate protection agreements give companies what they need most in times of transformation in a difficult economic environment: planning security for their investments. In times of tight budgets, climate protection agreements also ensure that the state flexibly pays only as much funding over the years as the companies actually need to implement decarbonization economically."
The 15 companies will receive a total funding amount of a maximum of around 2.8 billion euros for saving CO2 by converting their production. The funding will be paid out in arrears, i.e. only after the companies have achieved the annual greenhouse gas reduction target. The climate protection contracts have a term of 15 years. They are adjusted to the development of energy and CO2 prices and are therefore also a hedging instrument for the companies: the amount of the funding depends on how the prices of energy sources and certificates in the EU emissions trading system develop. It is currently expected that the funding will be significantly lower than the maximum estimated 2.8 billion euros. The maximum funding amount per project differs and depends in particular on the technology used and the production processes in the respective industry.
The projects from the first round of climate protection agreements can save a total of up to 17 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents over the term of the agreement. Numerous companies want to use innovative technologies for decarbonisation, several want to use hydrogen. Companies from various industries are represented, in particular from the glass and ceramics, paper and pulp, and chemicals sectors.
Climate protection agreements are intended to encourage modern, climate-friendly production processes in energy-intensive industrial sectors. Where climate-friendly production processes cannot currently be operated competitively, they offset the additional costs compared to conventional processes. By using innovative processes in the transition to CO₂ -neutral production, companies are taking on a pioneering role within their industry and are thus making an important contribution to the path to climate neutrality beyond their own CO₂ savings.
The funding program uses a new type of auction process: The usual individual review of projects is no longer necessary; instead, it is up to the companies to submit an offer that enables the implementation of the new technologies and at the same time remains competitive. The first bidding process for climate protection contracts started on March 12, 2024. Companies then had four months to submit offers.
Parallel to the evaluation of the first bidding process, the preparatory process for the second round of climate protection contracts started on July 29, 2024. Companies had until September 30, 2024 to submit their project proposals for the second bidding process. The second bidding round is also scheduled to start this year. After the start of the second bidding round, there would then be several months - as in the first round - to finally submit bids.
More information on the climate protection contracts and the second bidding process can be found at https://www.klimaschutzverträge.info.