Salzgitter ordered a plant for the production of green hydrogen from the Austrian Andritz

The contract completes a series of orders for the first phase of the Salzgitter SALCOS transformation program

German steel producer Salzgitter has ordered one of Europe’s largest green hydrogen production facilities from the Austrian technology group Andritz. It is stated in a message on the company’s website.

According to the company, this contract completes the ordering of all plants and systems within the first phase of Salzgitter SALCOS’ sustainable transformation program.

Andritz will build a 100 MW electrolysis plant at the Salzgitter Flachstahl plant. Starting from 2026, the enterprise will produce about 9 thousand tons of green hydrogen per year, which will be the beginning of its industrial use under the SALCOS program.

«The commissioning of the electrolysis plant marks a significant step in the SALCOS program and underlines our leading position in the transformation of the industry. In order to enable us to reduce the CO₂ footprint of our steel production in the future, it is imperative that we connect to the emerging hydrogen infrastructure as quickly as possible,» said Ulrich Grethe, Chairman of the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH Management Board.

According to Domenico Iacovelli, ANDRITZ GROUP Executive Board Member, the compact design of their green hydrogen plant fits perfectly into Salzgitter’s existing infrastructure.

Andritz will implement an innovative project with its partner HydrogenPro, whose electrolyzer technology is well suited for large-scale industrial applications.

As Salzgitter reminded, the SALCOS program will be implemented in three stages. The first stage will be commissioned as early as 2026 and will include a direct reduction unit, an electric arc furnace (both ordered earlier) and an electrolysis unit for the production of green hydrogen. The transition to virtually carbon-free steel production at the Salzgitter plant should be completed by the end of 2033, well ahead of legal requirements.

Funding for the first phase of SALCOS was provided by subsidies from the German government and the state of Lower Saxony, as well as substantial equity from Salzgitter.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in May 2023, Salzgitter made a deal with a consortium comprising Tenova, Danieli and DSD Steel Group for the construction of a direct reduction plant (DRI plant) on the site of Salzgitter Flachstahl. The unit with a production capacity of 2 million tons per year will become the largest part of the plant as part of the first stage of the company’s transformation project.

Also, in August 2023, Salzgitter started planned repair of blast furnace A at the company in Salzgitter, its declared duration is approximately 100 days. During the repair, the lining will be replaced, the complex technological process and control technology will be modernized. The company’s chief executive, Gunnar Gräbler, previously said that this would be the last lining replacement that Salzgitter would ever perform.