Salzgitter AG, a German steel maker, has picked Andritz to construct a 100 MW electrolysis plant that will generate green hydrogen to decarbonise steel production. The green hydrogen plant will be situated at Salzgitter Flachstahl’s site in the city of Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, and will feature pressurised alkaline electrolyser technology from HydrogenPro.
Furthermore, it is expected to generate around 9,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, which will be utilised to produce green steel. Reportedly, the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor will be Andritz. The initial stage of the programme is set to begin in 2026 and will have a direct reduction facility, an electric arc furnace, along the 100 MW electrolysis plant. The final phase of the transition to virtually carbon-free steel production at the Salzgitter site should be finished by the end of 2033.
In April 2023, a group of seven German energy companies planned to construct 10 GW of green hydrogen-producing capacity by 2030. The companies, including steel magnate Salzgitter and the German wing of oil and gas giant BP, announced the agreement with the goal of replacing gas-based “grey” hydrogen with solar and wind-based “green” hydrogen in German heavy industry. German gas distributors Nowega and Thyssengas, the oil company NWO, the energy firm Uniper, and the Dutch gas supplier Gasunie all joined the group.
