Europe’s energy transition is creating a dual challenge. The continent needs to expand and strengthen its electricity infrastructure while reducing the carbon footprint of the industrial supply chains required to build it. 

Transformers sit at the centre of both priorities. 

A discussion at CWIEME Berlin 2026 brought together experts from thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel, Siemens Energy, SGB-SMIT Group and Next2Sun AG to examine whether growing transformer demand could help establish a viable lead market for CO₂-reduced steel. Resilience and Decarbonization … 

The argument is compelling: if Europe is going to invest heavily in new grid infrastructure, the materials going into that infrastructure represent an opportunity to support decarbonisation further upstream. 

Why electrical steel matters 

Steel is fundamental to transformer manufacturing, particularly grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES). That makes the transformer sector an important potential source of demand for lower-emission materials. 

The panel outlined work involving utilities, transformer manufacturers, steelmakers and legal experts to explore what a lead market could look like. Their approach covered four areas: expected steel demand, standards for lower-emission steel, costs and benefits, and how such a market could be implemented. Resilience and Decarbonization … 

The scale of future demand strengthens the case. 

The study discussed during the session estimated that meeting projected transformer demand in Germany through to 2045 could require between 1 million and 1.4 million tonnes of steel. Crucially, the panel argued that introducing lower-emission steel would represent only a small proportion of overall grid investment. 

The session’s takeaways put the additional cost at less than 0.12% of total grid investment. Resilience and Decarbonization … 

That changes the conversation. Decarbonising transformer materials does not necessarily require choosing between grid expansion and sustainability. Both could potentially progress together. 

Creating demand requires common standards 

Cost, however, is only one part of the equation. 

For a market in CO₂-reduced steel to work at scale, manufacturers, suppliers and customers need confidence that they are comparing materials consistently. 

The panel highlighted transparent certification and labelling, including the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS), as mechanisms that could help verify reductions. Any credible methodology also needs to consider lifecycle emissions across raw material extraction, production and transport. Resilience and Decarbonization … 

This matters commercially as much as environmentally. Clear definitions and comparable data could give utilities and manufacturers greater confidence when specifying lower-emission materials while giving steel producers stronger signals to invest in lower-carbon production. 

Public procurement could play an important role too. Embedding sustainability criteria into tenders could create more predictable demand and give suppliers greater certainty around investment. 

Decarbonisation is a value chain challenge 

Perhaps the strongest conclusion from the CWIEME Berlin discussion was that no single part of the transformer value chain can make this shift independently. 

Steelmakers need viable demand. Transformer manufacturers need access to materials at the required volumes and specifications. Utilities need transparency over carbon footprints. Policymakers need frameworks that encourage progress without creating fragmented definitions between markets. 

The panel also pointed to hydrogen-based steelmaking as an important pathway, while recognising that the infrastructure required to supply green hydrogen remains underdeveloped. 

That makes collaboration increasingly important. 

CWIEME Berlin brings these interconnected parts of the electrical manufacturing value chain together, creating space for conversations between materials suppliers, manufacturers, technology providers and the organisations responsible for delivering future energy infrastructure. 

As transformer demand grows, the sector has an opportunity to influence more than grid capacity. By creating credible demand for CO₂-reduced materials, it could also help shape how the infrastructure behind Europe’s energy transition is manufactured.