DUISBURG (dpa-AFX) - Thyssenkrupp will announce further
details on Wednesday (09:30 a.m.) of its major project worth billions of euros
to produce low-CO2 steel in Duisburg. Germany's largest steel producer plans to
build a so-called direct reduction (DR) plant there in the coming years, which
can also run on hydrogen. The plant is to replace a blast furnace from 2026.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) and thyssenkrupp
Executive Board Chairman Martina Merz also plan to attend a press event.
The plant planned in Duisburg for the low-carbon production
of steel is to be built by the plant manufacturer SMS Group. SMS is to build
the DR plant and two melters. According to earlier information, the entire
project will cost more than two billion euros. According to thyssenkrupp, it
will be the largest DR plant in Germany.
In the plant, climate-neutral hydrogen can replace the coal
and coke used in classic blast furnaces to extract oxygen from the iron ore.
Unlike blast furnaces, DR plants do not produce liquid pig iron but solid
sponge iron. For this to be processed into steel, it first has to be melted
down. The plant is intended to help the company achieve a "leading competitive
position in emerging green steel markets."
Traditional steel production in coal-based blast furnaces
produces very large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. According to
earlier figures, thyssenkrupp is responsible for around 2.5 percent of Germany's
CO2 emissions, and the German steel industry as a whole for around seven
percent.
Other steelmakers, such as Salzgitter and ArcelorMittal, also want to build direct reduction
plants in Germany. DR technology is not yet widespread worldwide. Among others,
a plant with an annual capacity of 2 million tons is operating in the USA. The
Duisburg plant is expected to be capable of producing 2.5 million tons of
low-CO2 steel per year. Attention is also currently being paid to a project in
northern Sweden, where a new steel mill is to be built using this technology.
The SMS Group is to supply the technology there as well./tob/DP/zb