Bremen steel mill remains Fossil: Future without green technology?

Bremen steel mill remains Fossil: Future without green technology?

Bremen, Deutschland - Arcelor Mittal has decided not to convert the Bremen steel mill to climate -neutral technologies. This decision ensures great disappointment and annoyance in the Bremen Senate. According to taz.de , the steel mill is responsible for around 50 % of greenhouse gas emissions in Bremen. In order to make steel production climate -neutral, the installation of direct reduction systems and the use of green hydrogen would be necessary. Despite great funding - 600 million euros from the federal government and 250 million euros from Bremen - the company management considers steel production with hydrogen too costly.

What are the background of this decision? The corporate management has given the difficult framework conditions for European steel production, which are characterized by high steel imports and low demand. These factors faltered the plans for decarbonization. The Bremen Senate is now urgently calling for a perspective for the work and the jobs.

potential of the electrical laying stoves

A possible option is the conversion to electrical light arch stoves to reduce CO2 emissions. According to the experts of LGT The electrol light arcade process shows a significant better than the conventional high-thick methods. While about 2.0 tons of CO2 per ton of steel are emitted in the blast furnace oxide-up bladder converter (BOF), the emission intensity in the electrol light arc stove (EAF) is only between 0.4 and 0.7 tons CO2 per ton of steel.

However, Arcelor Mital plans to use electric laying stoves in countries with competitive power supply. Germany, on the other hand, has high electricity costs in international comparison, which makes implementation difficult. The possibility of introducing this technology could also have an impact on the planned expansion of hydrogen production in northern Germany, since some projects have already been stopped.

innovations in the steel area

Current developments in steel production strive for innovative approaches to decarbonization. With the Easymelt process, the SMS Group has presented an interesting alternative to the conventional blast furnace process. According to sms-group.com , this is an electrically supported, with synthesis gas. Easymelt could close the gap between the availability of high -quality iron ore and the demand for green steel.

The process enables emission savings of over 60 % compared to traditional methods and is less capital -intensive, which makes it attractive for subsequent implementation of existing systems. The aim is to enable CO2-neutral working methods and to reduce the dependence on high-grade pellets.

summarized it is shown that the industry is facing major challenges in order to achieve the desired net zero destinations by the middle of the century. The steel industry is an essential factor in conversation with the energy transition and urgently needs new innovative solutions. With the current decision by Arcelor Mittal, however, there is a threat of a step backwards in the efforts of sustainable technologies in Bremen and beyond.