Spain’s Iberdrola to supply green electricity to Salzgitter

Germany’s second-largest steelmaker Salzgitter has signed a Long Term Agreement (PPA) for the supply of clean electricity with Spain’s Iberdrola. It is stated in a post on the Salzgitter website.

German subsidiary Iberdrola will provide Salzgitter with 114 MW of electricity from its Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea for 15 years starting in 2024.

The clean energy will serve to provide added security for the SALCOS Steelmaking Transformation Program. Wind power is used to produce green hydrogen.

“The proposed collaboration with Iberdrola is another key component of our energy strategy. Our main goal is to meet the needs for electricity from renewable sources for Salzgitter and, in particular, the SALCOS transformation program,” said Gunnar Groebler, chief executive officer of Salzgitter.

According to him, the creation of sustainable production and technological chains is becoming increasingly important for the company, its suppliers and customers. With this agreement, Salzgitter has taken another big step towards climate neutral production.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Salzgitter received state financing about €1 billion for its hydrogen-based steel project. As part of the SALCOS project, the company plans to install a 100 MW cell, a direct reduction unit and an electric arc furnace to further replace part of the traditional blast furnace route.

The project was approved by the European Commission in October last year. The first phase includes about €700 million in federal funding and €300 million from the state of Lower Saxony. Salzgitter’s own already approved contribution is over €1 billion.