This regulation serves to establish measures in accordance with Section 11 Paragraph 3 of the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG) to prevent carbon leakage and to maintain the cross-border competitiveness of companies affected by the provisions of the BEHG, which result in higher fuel prices. Companies receiving subisidies under this Regulation must have made investments from 2023 onwards in measures that improve energy efficiency and are specifically identified within the framework of the energy management system in accordance with Section 10 of the Regulation, and are considered to be economically feasible. Only companies falling within the sectors and sub-sectors listed in Appendix 1 and 2 of the Regulation are eligible to apply for aid. This includes sectors and sub-sectors such as: cement, lead, wood and pulp, and bright steel production; the processing of nuclear fuel; sugar production; the production of synthetic rubber; the production and initial processing of copper; iron foundries; and the extraction of petroleum. The Appendices also indicate the degree to which the sectors and sub-sectors will be compensated in relation to their emissions intensity.
The European Commission approved the Regulation on August 10th, 2023, and approved the German government’s proposal for the European Commission to implement additional transparency requirements for companies receiving individual subsidy grants of more than 100,000 euros by publishing the names, size, region and primary economic sector of these companies.
