(Salzgitter) – The Austrian Andritz AG will build a 100 megawatt electrolysis plant for Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH. The parent company Salzgitter AG has confirmed the order.
The plant manufacturer uses the pressurized alkaline electrolyzer technology from the Norwegian company Hydrogen Pro ASA. The order corresponds to 18 units of the 5,5 megawatt fuel cell stack. The provider says they will “inform the market as soon as the order has been received and the final conditions have been determined.”
9.000 tons of hydrogen from 2026
The plant is expected to produce around 9.000 tons of green hydrogen annually. This in turn is used to produce green steel. Salzgitter AG sees this as the “beginning of the industrial use of hydrogen” as part of its “Salcos” (SAlzgitter Low CO2Steelmaking) program to decarbonize steel production. In this way, Germany's second largest steel company wants to replace the carbon previously required for the smelting of iron ores with green hydrogen through direct reduction.
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, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck handed over the decision to support the project as an “Important Projects of Common European Interest” (IPCEI) to Group Executive Board member Gunnar Groebler in April.
Commissioning planned for 2026
The first Salcos stage is scheduled to go into operation in 2026 and, in addition to the electrolysis plant that has now been ordered, consists of a direct reduction plant commissioned from the Italian technology group Tenova and the DSD Steel Group and a direct reduction plant commissioned from London-based Primetals Technologies Ltd. ordered electric arc furnace. The switch to almost CO2033-free steel production at the Salzgitter site should be completed by the end of 2.
Ulrich Grethe, CEO of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, explains the commissioning of the electrolysis plant as a “significant step” for the Salcos project. However, “the fastest possible connection to the emerging hydrogen infrastructure is essential” in order to make steel production more CO2-free in the future. He calls on politicians to “reduce bureaucratic hurdles and accelerate the development of a hydrogen infrastructure.”
Photos
Model of the planned 100 megawatt electrolysis. © Andritz AG
