(Dortmund/Duisburg/Essen) – The Essen energy company STEAG, the Duisburg steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Steel and the Dortmund electrolysis provider Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers want to set up water electrolysis together. The STEAG site in Duisburg-Walsum is planned as the location. Thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers is responsible for the installation and STEAG is responsible for the operation. The company is also responsible for supplying Thyssenkrupp Steel's steelworks in the neighboring Bruckhausen district of Duisburg with green hydrogen and oxygen.
For now, the companies are working on a joint feasibility study. This is intended to create a basis for project development. All three parties plan to participate as investors and will specifically raise private and public financing, according to a statement.
Green electricity for electrolysis
The project includes the construction of two new pipelines for the transport of hydrogen and oxygen from Walsum to the steelworks three kilometers away. A connection to the high-voltage grid ensures the supply of green electricity for electrolysis. Battery storage supports grid stability. The approximately 15 hectare site in Duisburg-Walsum offers the possibility of building electrolysis units with a capacity of up to 500 megawatts. It also has a connection to the existing natural gas network, which could also be used to transport hydrogen.
Increasing demand for hydrogen in steel production
Thyssenkrupp Steel initially wants to replace some of the carbon previously used in the existing blast furnaces. By converting a blast furnace, the company expects to need 20.000 tons of green hydrogen per year. This will increase to around 2050 tonnes annually by 720.000 as a result of the gradual conversion of the facilities. With an output of 500 megawatts, the electrolysis on the STEAG site could deliver up to 75.000 tons of green hydrogen per year.
“With this project we are laying the foundation for a hydrogen economy in North Rhine-Westphalia. We also give investors the opportunity to invest directly in this growth market,” explains Arnd Köfler, production director at Thyssenkrupp Steel. The start of project development is planned immediately following a positive result of the feasibility study.
Photos
Thyssenkrupp wants to use hydrogen to produce steel in Duisburg. In the background: Blast furnace 8 in Duisburg Hamborn / © Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe
