The SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar Group (SHS Group) with its shareholdings Dillinger, Saarstahl and Rogesa has awarded the decisive contracts for the direct reduction plant (DRI) and the two electric arc furnaces (EAF). The SHS Group is thus converting 70 percent of its total capacity to CO2-reduced production.
Stefan Rauber, Chairman of the Board of Management of Aktien-Gesellschaft der Dillinger Hüttenwerke and Saarstahl AG says: “Today marks a decisive milestone for our decarbonization project. We are very glad to have strong partners at our side. We are making history in order to create the future. We will offer our customers at Dillinger and Saarstahl a high-quality portfolio of carbon-reduced steel and overall become a pioneer of decarbonization in Europe. To accomplish this, however, we need the unwavering backing and support of policymakers.“
The direct reduction plant will supply reduced iron pellets to the two production sites in Dillingen/Saar and Völklingen. The plant at the Dillingen site has an annual production capacity of around two million tons of direct reduced iron and is based on innovative Midrex Flex technology, which offers the flexibility to work with various mixing ratios of natural gas and hydrogen. Plant construction firms Primetals Technologies, Midrex Technologies Inc. and the DSD Steel Group have been commissioned to build the plant.
In addition to the DRI plant, the contracts for the electric arc furnaces (EAF) for Dillingen and Saarstahl have also been awarded. These plants will produce CO2-reduced steel from the iron pellets produced in the DRI plant with the addition of steel scrap. The EAF for heavy plate manufacturer Dillinger is also being built by Primetals Technologies and the DSD Steel Group. SMS Group was chosen to build the EAF for wire rod and bar manufacturer Saarstahl. „With an installed power rating of 300 MVA, the new EAF is the biggest ever built by the SMS Group and will set a new milestone in the carbon-neutral future of the steel industry in Europe“, says Jochen Burg, CEO SMS Group.
The DRI plant and two electric arc furnaces are the core components of the decarbonization project of Saarstahl, Dillinger and Rogesa, with a production capacity of 3.5 million tons of crude steel per year. The SHS Group is thus converting 70 percent of its total capacity to CO2-reduced production in just one step. With the use steel scrap and initial quantities of hydrogen, the systems enable carbon emissions to be cut by up to 55 percent by the early 1930s. This corresponds to an annual reduction of 4.8 million tons of CO2. This means that these Saarland-based steel manufacturers are the only companies capable in the first step of achieving the EU’s “Fit for 55” climate target by 2030, if the corresponding infrastructure and economic efficiency are in place.
Because of the complexity of the system configuration and the additional infrastructure, the SHS Group has carried out extensive preliminary planning for Power4Steel. As a result, an exceptionally advanced level of detail was achieved in the planning phase of the project in order to prepare for the smoothest possible construction phase. Commissioning is planned for 2028/29.
The total investment for the conversion to “green” steel production, including environmental design, infrastructure and logistics measures, amounts to around EUR 4.6 billion. The companies are receiving EUR 2.6 billion in federal and state funding for this pioneering project, with the remaining funding being provided by the companies themselves.
With the awarding of these contracts, Dillinger, Saarstahl and Rogesa are systematically pursuing the goal of climate-responsible production in Saarland. According to SHS, they are laying the foundations for a future hydrogen economy in the Greater Region and thereby securing the future of the industrial location.
Source: SHS - Stahl-Holding-Saar
