Statement on the Industrial Accelerator Act

Photo Source:  EC - Audiovisual Service 

APPLiA acknowledges the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) as a meaningful step to strengthen Europe’s industrial base, yet warns that the current focus on energy intensive industries and limited number of net zero technologies is incomplete. The stated aim of the IAA is to support decarbonisation and reduce strategic dependencies whilst maintaining the Union’s commitments to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. In order to best achieve these aims, the act should recognise the impact of energy-efficient appliances on the Union economy, and in the energy transition.

The home appliance sector remains an important part of the EU economy, contributing €79.7 billion in value added to GDP and supporting nearly one million jobs. While the region has historically maintained a strong manufacturing base, with over 75% of large appliances sold in Europe being produced there, this is under strain. Production volumes fell from 68 million units in 2019 to 52 million in 2024, causing the share of EU-produced appliances in total sales to drop by 5%.

Beyond economic weight, the sector helps drive the energy transition. With households accounting for more than a quarter of final energy consumption, improving their efficiency is key to optimising energy consumption. Since 2019 energy-efficient appliances have contributed to a 12 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent) reduction in energy consumption. Ensuring the viability of downstream sectors is an effective way to safeguard the EU’s industrial base and support the energy transition whilst delivering direct savings to citizens. 

Energy efficient appliances as part of the public support schemes for building renovation 

Whilst the current IAA proposal supports the creation of building renovation public support schemes for energy intensive raw materials, it overlooks energy efficient and energy smart appliances. Support schemes for energy intensive raw materials that overlook sectors which turn raw materials into consumer oriented products, providing energy savings for both consumers and national grids, are clearly unbalanced. 

It has been estimated that ecodesign measures and Energy Labelling will bring energy savings of approximately 230 Mtoe by 2030, a sum equal to the total annual energy consumption of France. Furthermore, smart energy appliances play a crucial role in reducing energy demand and optimising energy consumption. Smart appliances  “communicate” with the grid to adjust the timing and the amount of electricity demand, thereby supporting the stability of power grids and the use of renewable energy sources. This demonstrates the role consumers play in the green transition, provided they make the switch. 

Integrating energy efficient and energy smart appliances into public support schemes scales proven national successes, such as the Italian "home appliance bonus". This scheme operated by providing consumers with a financial voucher of up to €200 to incentivise the replacement of obsolete, energy-inefficient units with new, EU produced, energy efficient models. The program demonstrated a  significant  social and economic impact with 300,000 vouchers issued in a recent cycle; the high demand underscores the necessity of transitioning such models into structural EU-wide demand channels.

For these reasons, APPLiA believes that the scope of building renovation public support schemes should be expanded to include energy efficient and energy smart appliances. This would align the Act’s aims of supporting decarbonisation and increasing the percentage of manufacturing in the EU GDP while providing tangible energy savings for consumers, particularly in the face of volatile energy markets.