German steel producer Salzgitter received funding approval from the Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze for the construction of the first iron ore direct reduction plant (DRI plant) that can be operated with hydrogen and natural gas, said a company release on December 4.
The company is aiming to implement the concept of Salcos (Salzigitter Low CO2 – Steelmaking) on construction of this plant. The key components for this process include electricity generated from renewable resources for production of green hydrogen by electrolysis.
Salzgitter foresees complete transformation to be implemented in several stages by 2025 which could result in reduction of CO 2 in steel production by up to 95pc. The construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of the 2022.