Steel crisis! ArcelorMittal stops green plans in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt

Steel crisis! ArcelorMittal stops green plans in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt

ArcelorMittal Europe has temporarily stopped the planned conversion of the steelworks in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt to climate-neutral production. This decision was made due to the current market situation, which concerns many industry players. The group will also forego government funding that was intended to support this change. The SPD politician Lars Klingbeil emphasizes the importance of creating a perspective for the industry and sees “green steel” as crucial for Germany’s future viability. He calls for a steel summit to bring all relevant actors together and develop solutions. In this context, Klingbeil has already contacted Federal Economics Minister Reiche from the CDU to discuss further strategy. This information was provided by Deutschlandfunk published.

ArcelorMittal's plans, which represent one of the most significant strategies to decarbonize steelmaking, remain relevant. The group is aiming for climate-neutral production in Europe by 2050 and has set itself the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030. To achieve this goal, ArcelorMittal relies on innovative technologies such as smart carbon technologies and hydrogen in steel production. As of late 2020, the company became the first steelmaker with a green steel certification system and planned to produce 600,000 tons of green steel by 2022.

Strategic projects and investments

One of the central projects is the H2H project, which was started in March 2019. This involves the construction of a direct reduction plant in Hamburg, which will involve an investment volume of 110 million euros. Preparatory work for this facility was initiated in 2020 and an application for funding was submitted to the Federal Environment Ministry. Construction of the facility is scheduled to begin by 2021. In the first expansion stage, production of 100,000 tons of sponge iron with gray hydrogen is planned; The second stage envisages the use of an electrolysis unit to produce green steel by probably 2025.

The medium-term goal of the plant in Hamburg is climate-neutral operation. At the same time, the DRUIDE project is being pushed forward in Duisburg, which involves the use of green sponge iron from Hamburg. The targeted DRI production in Hamburg is to be increased to 900,000 tons per year, whereas in Bremen a CO2 reduction is to be achieved by feeding natural gas and later hydrogen into the blast furnace. An electrolyzer with an initial capacity of 100 MW is planned here, which is to be expanded to 300 MW. The use of hydrogen in the blast furnace is also part of the future strategy in Eisenhüttenstadt.

Outlook and challenges

The switch to climate-neutral steel production represents not only a technical challenge for ArcelorMittal, but also a question of market opportunities. Lars Klingbeil and other decision-makers emphasize the urgency of actively developing solutions in the current situation and not losing sight of the industry. The combination of electric smelting plants with direct reduction plants is seen as the key to achieving ambitious climate goals while securing jobs. The coming period will show how politics and industry can shape this change together.