In Eisenhüttenstadt, Dr. Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, handed over the national funding notice for the joint decarbonization project of the ArcelorMittal sites in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt to management and employees.
Federal government provides funding
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection is funding the project with an amount of around 1.3 billion euros (total investment: around 2.5 billion euros). This includes co-financing from the state of Bremen of around 251 million euros for the direct reduction plant in Bremen.
"Today is an important day for our company and the workforce in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt. With the national funding notice, we have secured part of the costs that we need for the construction and operation of new decarbonization plants. With the financial resources from Bremen and the federal government, we are highly motivated to continue working on taking the next steps for the transformation," says Dr. Thomas Bünger, CEO of ArcelorMittal Flachstahl Deutschland.
CO2-reduced steel
The company has already entered into cooperations and partnerships with potential hydrogen suppliers such as energy supplier EWE or organizations such as the nature conservation association BUND in order to make the necessary preparations for the next steps. Intensive work is also being done on social transformation, as new plants and other production technology will also create new jobs.
By 2030, ArcelorMittal intends to replace two blast furnaces (one each in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt) with electric arc furnaces and a direct reduction plant. The new plants will use green hydrogen in the future as soon as it is available at internationally competitive prices and in sufficient quantities. Up to 5.8 million tons of CO2 could then be saved annually and 3.8 million tons of CO2-reduced steel could be produced.
Internationally competitive energy prices and sufficient available quantities of green hydrogen remain an important factor for ArcelorMittal in order to achieve a positive final investment decision by the group by mid-2025 and to implement the planned restructuring of steel production. The development of green lead markets - for example in the construction and automotive sectors - will also play an important role in making CO2-reduced steel competitive.
