The Environment Ministry will distribute €317 million from the recovery plan for green investments among three companies, caretaker Environment Minister Milan Chrenko announced at a news conference on Monday. The money will go to the U.S. Steel Kosice, Danucem Slovensko in Turna nad Bodvou (Kosice region) and Wienerberger Slovenske Tehelne. "Thanks to the implementation of these projects, Slovakia will reduce emissions by more than 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2026 at the latest," said Chrenko. This is comparable to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of half a million Slovaks, he added. Of the total, U.S. Steel Kosice will receive €300 million for a project to decarbonise steel production by installing electric furnaces. Danucem Slovensko met the criteria with its grey cement decarbonisation project worth around €8.4 million, and Wienerberger will also receive €8.4 million to decarbonise production at its brickworks. The implementation of the projects will result in a reduction equivalent to one fifth of the total emissions released into the air in Slovakia last year by companies participating in the emissions trading scheme. At the same time, the savings to be achieved are 2.5 times higher than the investment target included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the minister said. Livia Vasakova, Vice-Premier in charge of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the use of EU funds, said that this was the biggest challenge of the Recovery Plan. "We believe that thanks to this we'll be able to show that industry is able to operate competitively also thanks to technologies that contribute to a better environment," she said. According to Vasakova, more than €2.4 billion from the Recovery Plan will be spent on green measures. The Recovery Plan call is part of a state aid scheme to decarbonise industry. It was announced on November 25, 2022 and concluded on January 20, 2023.
Source: TASR
