The iron and steel industry is a strategic sector of the EU economy, producing a material that is crucial to most of the EU’s industrial ecosystems while being responsible for approximately 5% of the EU’s total CO₂ emissions. Investment decisions made in the next decade must align with the EU’s climate targets to avoid the risk of stranded assets and locking in CO₂ emissions beyond 2050. The industry is focusing on developing direct reduced iron (DRI) technology, which currently relies on natural gas for reducing iron ore and represents 5% of global steel production outside the EU, because the application of green reducing agents in direct reduction furnaces is one of the most promising strategies for reducing CO₂ emissions in steel production.