A central future project at ArcelorMittal is the technological restructuring of steel production. The group had already developed a detailed conversion plan for the Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt locations in 2021 and applied for financial support for the project. During an extraordinary works meeting in Bremen, Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, announced financial support for the gigantic transformation project with almost 1.3 billion euros - with Bremen co-financing and subject to approval by the EU competition authority in Brussels.
“With our group strategy XCarb®, we are working on a groundbreaking project for the future of steel production - also in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt. After a long period of evaluation by the authorities, we are happy to be able to take the next step towards climate-neutral steel production in Germany with this news from the federal government: the first hurdle has been overcome. By using green hydrogen, we could save more than 6.3 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030 and produce 3.4 million tons of CO2-reduced steel in both plants. The next hurdle will be sufficient quantities of renewable energy and green hydrogen – and at competitive prices,” explained Reiner Blaschek, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.
There are still further steps required before ArcelorMittal makes a final investment decision - but the news was nevertheless greeted with joy. In addition to the management, works council and workforce, Bremen's mayor Andreas Bovenschulte and representatives of IG Metall were also on site.
“With this announcement from Berlin, we can continue to work on preparing for the transformation of our locations. As a first step, we plan to reduce CO2 emissions by around 60 percent by 2030. Now it's time to tackle the next steps for the changeover together with our motivated teams on site: In the next twelve months we will push forward the detailed engineering planning," said Dr. Thomas Bünger, CEO of ArcelorMittal Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt.
Mike Böhlken, chairman of the works council at ArcelorMittal Bremen, added: “We welcome the fact that Robert Habeck came to Bremen with this good news at the invitation of the works council and IG Metall. The federal government's signal is an important step in the right direction. Green steel is the future of the steelworks. This path only works together with the workforce. Now we have to master this social transformation together.”
Politicians will continue to be asked to ensure the conditions for affordable green hydrogen and electricity in sufficient quantities that are needed to operate the planned plants. The promised financial support of 1.3 billion euros relates to an overall project with an investment volume of around 2.5 billion euros for the two locations. The plan is to build electric arc furnaces in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt, which will eventually produce steel using renewable electricity and increased use of recycled scrap.
In addition, a direct reduction plant is to be built in Bremen in which the preliminary product sponge iron will be produced from iron ore, initially with natural gas and, in the long term, with green hydrogen. The sponge iron is to be used in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt for steel production with greatly reduced emissions.
