The German Association of Industrial Energy Consumers (VIK - Verband der Industriellen Energie- und Kraftwirtschaft e.V.) welcomes the opportunity to participate in the public consultation on the EU Commission’s proposal for the Climate, Energy and Environmental Aid Guidelines 2022 (CEEAG) and supports the Commission’s intention to align the State Aid Guidelines for Environmental Protection and Energy 2014-2020 (EEAG) with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the EU Industrial Strategy. The CEEAG are a key instrument in the industrial transformation towards a climate neutral economy. The revision of the EEAG must support the right framework for European Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs) to contribute to the transition, while remaining competitive on a global scale. However, the transition to a climate-neutral economy entails challenges. For industrial energy users, these challenges relate to the availability and access to climate-neutral energy at globally competitive prices. Secondly, the transition will require enormous investments to develop, upscale and implement new or existing decarbonisation technologies, both in new and existing plants. These investment costs cannot be borne solely by the energy intensive industries and must be limited for EIIs, given the high level of global competition EIIs face from competitors operating under less constrained conditions. A well-revised state aid framework is extremely important to provide producers with the much-needed financial support and long-term regulatory certainty.