Serbia’s industrial exporters increasingly need to connect electricity procurement, carbon reporting and production data to maintain access to European Union markets. Steel and aluminium processors, cement producers, foundries, chemical companies and automotive suppliers face growing requirements to document the energy and emissions associated with their products.
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entered its definitive phase, creating new opportunities for EPS, independent electricity suppliers and renewable energy producers to combine electricity sales with verifiable environmental data.
EPS and Independent Suppliers Expand Renewable Offers
Serbia’s EMS operates the national guarantees-of-origin registry, while domestic legislation recognises renewable electricity purchase agreements and allows larger industrial consumers to use multiple supply contracts under applicable network and balancing arrangements.
EPS already offers its ZelEPS green electricity product, backed by guarantees of origin. Industrial exporters increasingly need additional documentation identifying generating installations, electricity volumes, reporting periods, metering records and contractual arrangements. Independent suppliers can compete through flexible procurement, renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) and portfolio management. Manufacturers could combine wind and solar contracts, rooftop generation, battery storage and market purchases to manage electricity costs and supply risks.
Production Data Determines Product Emissions
Renewable electricity alone does not establish a product’s carbon footprint. Manufacturers must connect electricity consumption with production processes, output volumes and raw-material inputs.
For example, a factory consuming 100 GWh annually could source 50 GWh through a renewable PPA, generate 20 GWh from on-site solar and purchase the remaining 30 GWh from the market. Verifiable records would need to reconcile generation, consumption and renewable attributes.
Material emissions are equally important. 1,000 tonnes of material containing 2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per tonne carries 2,000 tonnes of embedded emissions. If processing and scrap leave 900 tonnes of finished output, the precursor contribution rises to approximately 2.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per tonne. Exporters therefore need to combine renewable electricity with lower-carbon materials, improved material yields, energy efficiency and verified supplier information.
CBAM Compliance Requires Separate Emissions Calculations
CBAM covers specified products in cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The treatment of indirect electricity emissions varies by product and methodology. Manufacturers should distinguish between CBAM embedded emissions, product carbon footprints and corporate greenhouse-gas reporting. The same underlying production and metering records may support all three, but their calculation methods differ.
Guarantees of origin substantiate renewable electricity attributes but do not independently establish which production processes used the electricity or which emissions methodology applies. As of October 2026, formal mutual recognition between EU guarantees of origin and certificates issued by Energy Community contracting parties remained incomplete. A decision was expected to be considered at the Energy Community’s December 2026 Ministerial Council.
Verified Data Could Strengthen Export Competitiveness
The European Commission’s CBAM infrastructure enables non-EU installation operators to submit installation and emissions information for authorised declarants, while accredited verifiers review calculations and supporting evidence. Serbian factories already hold much of the necessary information in SCADA systems, electricity meters, production databases, ERP platforms and supplier records. Connecting these systems through engineering-based monitoring, reporting and verification could improve monthly carbon reporting and provide customers with traceable emissions data.
The same information could help banks assess investments in renewable PPAs, rooftop solar, battery storage, energy efficiency and process electrification. For EPS, independent suppliers and industrial exporters, the opportunity is to combine competitive electricity procurement with reliable, auditable environmental data, increasingly linking energy management to access to European supply chains.
Elevated by CBAM.Clarion.Engineer
