Salzgitter AG defies setback: green steel stays on course!

Salzgitter AG defies setback: green steel stays on course!

An exciting chapter in steel production writes Salzgitter AG: Despite the cancellation of the large company ArcelorMittal for renovation projects in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt, the green future continues. According to TAG24 , Salzgitter AG is determined to implement its plans for the production of green steel without interruption. The conversion has been running since the end of 2023 and is being promoted according to schedule. The company is investing over two billion euros, of which one billion euros are supported by the federal and state governments.

The first step in this transformation process provides to gradually replace the carbon -fired blast furnaces with modern systems, which are initially operated with natural gas and later with green hydrogen. The ambitious plans of Salzgitter AG provide to switch the entire production to green steel by 2033. This innovative orientation is not only ecologically important, but also an economic necessity, since Germany receives around 20% of its greenhouse gas emissions from industry, especially from the steel and iron industry, which is currently still working with coal, so Bdew .

hydrogen as key technology

A central element of this change is the structure of a hydrogen economy. The need for competitive electricity prices is enormous so that the production of green hydrogen remains economically feasible. Salzgitter AG plans to continue to invest in innovative technologies in order to use hydrogen as an alternative energy source for your blast furnaces, comparable to the optimistic approaches of Thyssenkrupp that also work to integrate hydrogen into your production processes.

Another example of the progressive change is the Windh2 project, which has launched Salzgitter. Here, hydrogen is produced using wind energy and a PEM electrolyser. Such projects are necessary to achieve the ambitious CO₂ savings targets and to develop sustainable solutions for industry.

urban development and CO₂ reduction

Back to the urban level: In Frankfurt, special attention is paid to the CO₂ balance of the bridges. Due to infrastructure projects, significant CO₂ emissions are created, and here the innovative use of almost CO₂-neutral steel comes into play, such as old new land . The aim is to reduce the CO₂ emissions of the bridges by 75% by 2050. The Frankfurt bridges should become a shop window for climate-friendly construction methods and include measures such as the use of low-CO2 concrete and the use of renewable energies.

With these measures, not only the city is more environmentally conscious, but also the great potential for saving CO₂-in line with the trend, in the construction industry to rely on climate-friendly materials and drive technologies.

Development in Salzgitter and Frankfurt shows that the conversion in the steel industry and the construction industry are closely interlinked and that innovative solutions are in the middle of the cities for a greener future. The signs are on change, and it remains to be seen how much these initiatives will have an impact in the coming years.