How can our steel production become
climate-neutral?

Salzgitter AG is one of Europe's leading steel and technology groups. We operate our integrated steelworks in Salzgitter almost energy self-sufficiently and close material cycles by reusing residual materials and by-products. We are now working very close to the limits of natural science and process technology, making us one of the world's most efficient steel manufacturers.

Nevertheless, production at our steelworks in Salzgitter generates around eight million tons of CO2 every year, which is unavoidable under the given technical conditions and with the equipment available. In order to reduce our CO2 emissions and drive forward climate-neutral steel production, we want to test new approaches and use innovative process technologies.

 

Green steel through green
hydrogen!

With our program SALCOS® (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking), we are working with our partners on the question of how we can use hydrogen to produce virtually climate-neutral steel.

The concept was developed together with partners in 2015. It comprises the individual steps for providing green steel. The components are hydrogen production and the conversion of steel production from blast furnaces to direct reduction, initially based on natural gas and later on hydrogen. With a complete switch to direct reduction plants, hydrogen can completely replace the carbon previously required for steel production and thus reduce our CO2 emissions by over 95 %. By setting ourselves the goal of avoiding CO2 directly (carbon direct avoidance strategy) rather than storing it or making it usable at great expense, our concept is sustainable and sets an example for the industry.

An ambitious project and its first implementation modules

SALCOS® comprises various aspects that interlock seamlessly and contribute to climate-neutral steel production in the long term. For several years, we have been gathering important findings for the planned large-scale operation of SALCOS® through various projects. With the WindH2 project, for example, we are gaining important experience in the production of green hydrogen based on wind power. In GrInHy 2.0, we are working on technologies for the efficient production of green hydrogen. With µDRAL, we are initiating the conversion of the blast furnace route to direct reduction plants - and are thus ultimately in a position to drastically reduce our CO2 emissions and ensure virtually climate-neutral steel.

Projektstufe 01 | Sektorkopplung von erneuerbaren Energien
01 │ The SALCOS® program

Comprehensive concept for CO2 reduction

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02 │Teilprojekt WindH2
02 │ Subproject WindH2

Green power generated from wind energy

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03 │ Teilprojekt GrInHy 2.0
03 │ Subproject GrInHy 2.0

Green hydrogen through electrolysis

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04 │ Teilprojekt µDRAL
04 │ Subproject µDRAL

Gradual conversion to direct reduction plants

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Highlights of the SALCOS® program

SALCOS® is our key to climate-neutral steel production and at the same time a way to secure the future of the Salzgitter steel location and jobs. We would like to give you an understanding of this concept, which is of the utmost importance to us, in sound and vision and share with you the milestones we have achieved on the road to green steel.

3sat

28.11.2023

3sat.de | NANO

Öl, Kohle und Gas zu ersetzen, ist eine große Herausforderung. Auf dem Weg zur Klimaneutralität setzen Chemie- und Stahlindustrie nun auf Wasserstoff.

market STEEL Media GmbH

12.10.2023

market STEEL Media

Die Salzgitter AG ist einer der führenden Stahl- und Technologie­konzerne Europas und einer der effizientesten Stahl­produzenten der Welt. Dennoch produziert...

Niedersächsisches Wasserstoff-Netzwerk

06.03.2023

umwelt.niedersachsen.de

In the μDRAL project project of Salzgitter AG, the world's first direct reduction plant is being used in an integrated steel mill that can be operated flexibly with ...

NZZ.ch

25.10.2022

NZZ.ch

In Salzgitter wird an der Zukunft des Stahlwerks gebaut. Ab 2033 soll es keine mit Kohle betriebenen Hochöfen mehr geben, um Stahl zu produzieren.

ardmediathek.de

31.07.2022

Die Maus | ardmediathek.de

In the video from 9m39s: 'Die Sendung mit der Maus' dedicates a factual story to our SALCOS® programme and the production of green steel at Salzgitter AG ...

kfw.de

17.11.2021

eMove360°

As part of the eMove360 ° Europe 2021 international trade fair for mobility 4.0 electrically-networked-autonomous (November 16 to 18), the winners ...

kfw.de

25.11.2021

NDR.de

Die Industrie gehört mit einem Anteil von etwa 20 % an den Emis­sionen zu den größten CO2-Verursachern in Deutschland. Der Weg zur Klima­neutralität ist noch weit.

EURACTIV Deutschland

08.10.2019

EURACTIV Deutschland

Germany’s energy-intensive steel industry needs to reinvent itself so that it can meet European climate targets and remain competitive ...

Deutsche Welle

26.07.2019

Deutsche Welle

Alle reden von einer Dekarbonisierung der Wirtschaft. Im Detail wird deutlich, welche Herkulesaufgabe das ist. Zum Beispiel bei der Herstellung von …

Spiegel Online

13.07.2019

Spiegel Online

Wasserstoff, hergestellt aus Ökostrom, ist für die Industrie nahezu die einzige Möglichkeit, klimaneutral zu wirtschaften. Der Aufwand für ...

Clean Wire Energy

22.05.2019

Clean Wire Energy

Volker Hille’s passion project could cut Germany’s entire CO2 output by almost one percent. He is head of corporate technology at Salzgitter Group ...

SALCOS® explained

SALCOS® explained

Image with link to Video SALCOS® - Hannover Messe 2022

SALCOS®- Hannover Messe 2022

Image with link to Die Maus title=

Die Maus: Sachgeschichte
„Klima“

BaK Interview with Martin Zappe

Business Talk am Kudamm,
Interview with Martin Zappe

FCH JU meets GrInHy2.0

FCH JU meets GrInHy2.0

Image with link to NANO Energie soll grün werden

NANO: Energie soll grün werden

SALCOS®-VR Experience

SALCOS®-VR Experience