Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 14, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
Thyssenkrupp's €3B green steel site in Duisburg can proceed without full reliance on hydrogen, using natural gas to cut CO2 emissions.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp said a planned green steel site worth around 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) could go ahead even if government ambitions to build up a world-leading hydrogen industry fail.
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, tipped to become chancellor in next month's election, said late on Monday a fast shift to hydrogen was unrealistic.
The current SPD-led government, which broke apart last year over issues including disagreements on funding, has sought to speed up the decarbonisation of its industry, with hydrogen a pillar of that strategy.
However, doubts about the economics and regulatory uncertainty have led to project delays and questioning of whether industry, especially steelmakers, can implement their plans.
While the government is in charge of ensuring a timely ramp-up of hydrogen infrastructure and supply to secure Europe's steel sector, the group's planned green steel site in Duisburg was not dependent on it, Thyssenkrupp said.
"The plant can also be operated with natural gas. In natural gas operation, around 50% of the CO2 emissions generated in conventional blast furnace operation can already be avoided," the group said.
It said the plant would be virtually climate-neutral if operated entirely with green hydrogen, meaning hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
"In principle, we are open to all technologies for the further green transformation of the steel business and reserve all conceivable options to further decarbonise crude steel production in particular."
Thyssenkrupp, Germany's largest steelmaker, said the next step in its steel transformation could be the construction of a modern electric arc furnace to replace another blast furnace in Duisburg.
($1 = 0.9754 euros)
(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz; editing by Barbara Lewis)
The article discusses Thyssenkrupp's €3 billion green steel project, which can proceed without full reliance on hydrogen.
Thyssenkrupp plans to use natural gas to cut CO2 emissions by 50% and aims for climate neutrality with green hydrogen.
Thyssenkrupp may construct a modern electric arc furnace to replace a blast furnace as part of its steel transformation.
Explore more articles in the Headlines category
