The Polish Ministry of Industry has released an action plan aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of the country's steel industry, addressing critical challenges in competitiveness, environmental compliance, energy costs, and decarbonization. The plan outlines both national and European-level strategies to support steel sector as one of Poland's key industrial sectors during its crucial transformation period.
According to the ministry, Poland's energy mix, which is still based mainly on coal-based sources of electricity generation, translates into a high cost of doing business in the country, and Polish steel mills are in a much more difficult situation compared to their foreign competitors. In order to combat rising energy prices, Poland will reform its cost compensation system for energy-intensive sectors by shortening disbursement deadlines and introducing advance payments to steelmakers. The plan also emphasizes increasing industry participation in applications that facilitate more flexible energy management and supporting renewable energy development efforts.
Poland will establish dedicated funding for metallurgical research and development activities to support the industry's transition to low-carbon technologies. This fund will help steelmakers create specialized R&D programs linked to climate and digitization goals, while leveraging research institute capabilities to optimize industrial processes and achieve emission reduction targets.
To secure adequate scrap metal supplies essential for electric arc furnace production, Poland plans to evaluate exempting steel scrap from the SENT system - a trade measure maintained by National Tax Administration to monitor the transportation of sensitive goods with the purpose of preventing VAT evasion - which currently creates barriers to imports. The document notes that steel scrap inclusion in SENT has led to supplier avoidance and higher costs, undermining the competitiveness of domestic steel mills against countries without similar bureaucratic requirements.
At the EU level, Poland will push for modernizing trade protection measures, developing comprehensive tariff systems to replace expiring safeguard measures, and strengthening the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to prevent resource shuffling and ensure fair competition.