Duisburg (dpa / lnw) - NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubaur (Greens) has emphasized the importance of the large-scale plant planned by Thyssenkrupp for the production of low-CO2 steel using hydrogen. With the award of the contract for the construction of the plant, the clear signal is being sent that the hydrogen market is picking up speed, explained Neubaur on Wednesday. "The need in industry is becoming more concrete, now we need investment decisions for more renewable energies and more green hydrogen. Without hydrogen, the green transformation of industry will not succeed."
The federal government and North Rhine-Westphalia support the use of green hydrogen in the steel industry. This has an enormous CO2 saving effect. "In addition, green steel production lays the foundation for sustainable supply chains in the metalworking industry."
Germany's largest steel producer wants to build a so-called direct reduction plant (DR plant) in Duisburg in the coming years, which can also be operated with hydrogen. The plant is to replace a blast furnace from 2026. In the plant, hydrogen produced in a climate-neutral manner can replace the coal and coke used in classic blast furnaces in order to extract oxygen from the iron ore. This avoids a lot of carbon dioxide. In total, the plant will cost over two billion euros. Thyssenkrupp wanted to announce further details of the project on Wednesday when the contract for the DR plant was awarded to the plant manufacturer SMS Group.
