On March 4, 2026, the European Commission published a proposal for a new EU Regulation — the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) — designed to strengthen EU manufacturing capacity and accelerate industrial decarbonization. The goal of this proposal is to support EU manufacturing to reach 20% of EU GDP by 2035, after declining to only 14.3% in 2024.
The IAA is not implemented yet. If adopted by the European Parliament and Council, it would introduce a new set of demand-side rules aimed at creating “lead markets” for low-carbon and, in some cases, European Union-origin industrial materials used in construction, infrastructure, and parts of the automotive sector. The near-term implication for manufacturers and AEC supply chains is that public procurement and subsidy-backed projects would require verifiable low-carbon and even EU-origin materials.
The proposal is consistent with existing EU regulations to define what low-carbon materials are. It directly links to the criteria of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
CPR requirements closely align with those governing the creation of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). In practice, this means that manufacturers will likely need EPDs to prove that their products comply with the mandates of the IAA.
The clearest, date-specific requirements are in Annex II, which splits obligations into public procurement and other forms of public intervention. They introduce low-carbon and ‘made in the EU’ obligations, to be applied from January 1, 2029.
From January 1, 2029, Member States would need to apply the requirements of the IAA to at least 45% of their national budget allocated to public support schemes for construction/renovation of buildings and infrastructure. For those projects, only beneficiaries that meet minimum low-carbon / Union-origin requirements would be eligible.
The minimum requirements for each material are:
Public procurement
The same requirements will apply for public procurement covering buildings, infrastructure, and motor vehicles for civil purposes. The same core quantities appear: 25% low-carbon steel, 5% low-carbon and EU-origin concrete/mortar, and 25% low-carbon and EU-origin aluminum.
The IAA proposal will move through the EU legislative process. Once approved, it would enter into force on the day after publication in the Official Journal. The Commission anticipates an evaluation two years after entry into force.
There is one key fixed date: January 1, 2029, for the Annex II low-carbon / EU-origin shares for steel, concrete-mortar, and aluminum in covered procurement and support schemes.
The IAA closely aligns with the requirements of the existing CPR and ESPR, as well as many national and urban regulations with tight low-carbon limits for construction products. Manufacturers and procurement teams should be ready ahead of deadlines and start preparing now to remain competitive.
The draft leans heavily on verification and monitoring, and details penalties in Articles 22, 23, and 32 For most requirements, the proposal says Member States must set national penalties that are effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.
The foreign direct investment (FDI) chapter is more prescriptive: national Investment Authorities would have to monitor compliance and they could impose penalties for providing false or misleading information, and for failure to notify or comply with investment conditions. For notification breaches, the proposal sets penalties that must be at least 5% of the foreign investor’s average daily aggregate turnover, or at least 5% of the investment value where the investor is a private person.
Where the Commission carries out its own monitoring, it may penalize false or misleading information or failure to provide required information with a penalty of up to 5%.
The purpose of the IAA is to streamline permitting for manufacturing projects, create demand for European low-carbon industrial products, and strengthen strategic value chains.
The Commission has set five specific objectives:
Some of the expected benefits from the preferred policy option are:
What is the Industrial Accelerator Act?
The Industrial Accelerator Act is an EU proposal to boost low-carbon industry and demand, by establishing low-carbon and Union-origin requirements for many materials used in public procurement and support schemes. One Click LCA helps manufacturers prepare with product LCA and EPD workflows to verify and back their carbon impact claims.
Which construction materials are covered first by the IAA?
Annex II of the IAA targets steel, concrete and mortar including clinker and cement, and aluminum. One Click LCA supports LCA and EPD work for these products, including pre-verified and product-tailored EPD generators.
What thresholds does the IAA set?
For covered segments: 25% low-carbon steel, 5% low-carbon and Union-origin concrete/mortar (including clinker and cement), and 25% low-carbon and Union-origin aluminum. One Click LCA helps evidence carbon claims thanks to LCA and EPD creation for whole product portfolios.
What does “low-carbon” mean in the IAA?
The IAA draft links low-carbon criteria to CPR and ESPR regulations, which depend on harmonized standards. One Click LCA helps calculate product carbon footprints and generate supporting EPDs aligned with CPR and ESPR criteria.