(Lingen) – Lower Saxony's Energy and Climate Protection Minister Christian Meyer has formally put a pilot plant for the direct reduction of iron into operation in Lingen. “Green iron for the steel industry” – the name of the project – is the result of a collaboration between the start-up CO2Grab/HyIron, the Austrian steel manufacturer Benteler International AG and the energy supplier RWE AG.
Benteler wants to be CO2045-neutral by 2 and then only use green steel. © Benteler International AG
As part of the pilot project, over one ton of green iron per hour is to be produced using green hydrogen. However, nothing is known about the origin of the electricity for the hydrogen or the hydrogen supplier. The investment costs for the system on the local RWE power plant site were five million euros. According to its own information, the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment is funding the project with three million euros. Benteler Steel/Tube GmbH from Paderborn wants to use the steel to manufacture pipes.
In conventional blast furnaces, iron is extracted from iron ore using coke. In direct reduction (direct reduced iron, DRI), hydrogen is used instead of coke. The energy source reacts with the oxygen in the iron ore (iron oxide) and converts it into sponge iron. The sponge iron (in pellet form) is then processed into steel. When using green hydrogen, the CO2-free product can be marketed as green steel.
Benteler’s “green pipes” strategy
As part of a “Green Pipes” strategy, the Benteler Steel/Tube division has set itself the goal of being CO2045-neutral by 2. The company's own electrical steelworks in Lingen is the heart of this. There, steel scrap is recycled using an electric arc furnace. Benteler uses “blank” to produce pipes in its own factories; “Slabs” can serve as raw material for strip steel.
Compared to the usual blast furnace route, the Lingen electric steelworks already produces over 75 percent fewer CO2 emissions for low-alloy steel grades, according to the company. By using green electricity, this value is significantly reduced again.
Thyssenkrupp and Salzgitter AG with DRI
However, the quantities produced in the steelworks in Lingen are not sufficient to cover Benteler's internal needs. A cooperation between Thyssenkrupp Steel and Benteler is to be further intensified from 2026. The steel will then come from the planned direct reduction plant in Duisburg, which will eventually be operated with green hydrogen and green electricity.
Thyssenkrupp wants to convert steel production to DRI. © Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG
The EU Commission approved the project in July “tkH2Steel” of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG approved under state aid law. This enabled the federal government to release funding worth two billion euros. The money comes from the federal government (70 percent) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The group's own investments amount to almost a billion euros. The new DRI systems are scheduled to go into operation in 2026 and are scheduled to be gradually converted to green hydrogen from 2028.
In June, Salzgitter AG was visited by a top trio in energy policy (from left to right): CEO Gunnar Groebler, EU Commissioner Kadri Simon, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck, Minister of Economics of Lower Saxony Olaf Lies. © Andreas Lohse
The steel group Salzgitter AG, based in Lower Saxony, has also been working for some time on the plan to convert its blast furnaces to direct reduction for the large-scale production of green steel. As part of the “Salcos” (SAlzgitter Low CO2Steelmaking) project, Germany's second largest steel company wants to replace the carbon previously required for the smelting of iron ores through direct reduction, initially with natural gas and - if there is sufficient availability - with green hydrogen.
Investments totaling more than two billion euros are planned for the implementation of the first phase - around one billion of which will come from the federal government (70 percent) and the state (30 percent). As reported, Robert Habeck presented the funding decision to CEO Gunnar Groebler in April at the Hanover Trade Fair.
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Benteler International AG wants to produce pipes from green steel in the future. © Benteler International AG
