Thyssenkrupp Steel and STEAG have agreed on the delivery of hydrogen from STEAG’s Duisburg-Walsum site to thyssenkrupp Steel in Duisburg, Germany.
The project is expected to decarbonise the steelmaking site, which is considered the largest in Europe. The agreement followed a feasibility study for a water electrolysis plant with a capacity of up to 520MW, and the project is now entering its next phase following the study.
“The positive outcome of the feasibility study and the plan for thyssenkrupp Steel to purchase a large proportion of the hydrogen generated in Walsum in the future means we can start drumming up funding and private investment capital.”
Karl Resch, head of sales at STEAG
“The positive outcome of the feasibility study and the plan for thyssenkrupp Steel to purchase a large proportion of the hydrogen generated in Walsum in the future means we can start drumming up funding and private investment capital,” stated Karl Resch, who negotiated the MoU with thyssenkrupp on behalf of STEAG.
The signing of the agreement marks an important milestone on the road to implementing the project, he remarked. The investment decision for the project is expected to be taken by 2023 at the latest, with delivery to thyssenkrupp Steel planned to start in 2025.
“We will then put a so-called direct reduction facility into operation on the thyssenkrupp Steel site in Duisburg. This will enable iron to be produced with almost zero emissions using hydrogen rather than by burning coke in a blast furnace.”
Dr. Marie Jaroni, head of decarbonization at thyssenkrupp Steel
“Our goal is to make thyssenkrupp Steel climate neutral by 2045. As an interim step, we are already aiming to significantly reduce our emissions by 30% by 2030,” Jaroni explained.
The agreement follows other energy projects taken on by STEAG, such as hydrogen projects in the Ruhr and Saar regions, and a new-build project for a combined cycle gas turbine power plant in Herne.