Germany’s Salzgitter Flachstahl has signed a long-term agreement with energy company EWE for the supply of 10,000 tons of green hydrogen per year, marking a significant step in the company’s transition to low-carbon steel production under its SALCOS (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) program.
Under the agreement, EWE will supply green hydrogen from its 320 MW electrolysis plant currently under construction in Emden. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2030 through Germany’s hydrogen core network and will run for an initial period of seven years.
The contracted volume will cover around 6.5pct of Salzgitter’s future hydrogen requirements. The steelmaker estimates that its direct reduction plant could consume up to 150,000 tons of hydrogen annually once fully converted to hydrogen-based production. Salzgitter also plans to produce around 9,000 tons of hydrogen per year from a 100 MW electrolyzer at its steelworks site.
The green hydrogen will be used as part of the SALCOS program, which aims to gradually replace conventional blast furnace steelmaking with direct reduction technology. According to the company, the use of natural gas in the direct reduction process can already reduce CO2 emissions by around 60pct compared with the traditional blast furnace route, while the eventual use of green hydrogen would enable near climate-neutral steel production.
Salzgitter is one of Germany’s leading steelmakers, with crude steel capacity of about 6.4 mln tons.