Green steel—a material with national significance

Sustainable steel Green steel — a material with national significance

2025-03-21 From Dr. rer. nat. Thomas Dr. Isenburg | Translated by AI 6 min Reading Time

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The German steel industry is significantly responsible for CO₂ emissions. That is one reason why efforts are being made to produce green steel. However, this will be a Herculean task.

Green steel is intended to protect the climate! In Hamburg, Arcelormittal operates a steel production that uses natural gas instead of coke. Thyssenkrupp Steel is also relying on this for climate-neutral steel production. The facilities can later also be powered by hydrogen.(Image: Th. Isenburg) — Green steel is intended to protect the climate! In Hamburg, Arcelormittal operates a steel production that uses natural gas instead of coke. Thyssenkrupp Steel is also relying on this for climate-neutral steel production. The facilities can later also be powered by hydrogen.
(Image: Th. Isenburg)

The steel industry produces 40 million tons of crude steel annually. The largest industrial area in Europe is operated by Thyssenkrupp Steel in Duisburg (Germany). Four blast furnaces are located there. Around 13,500 people find employment there. In total, Thyssenkrupp produces 10 million tons of steel in Germany. However, the steel industry is also responsible for about 8 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. This is because coal is currently used as a reducing agent in the blast furnace to chemically remove oxygen from the iron ore in order to obtain iron.

Hardly any key industry can do without steel

However, if green hydrogen is used instead of coal in the future, only water vapor will be produced. This will be condensed into water and fed back into the cycle. National carbon dioxide emissions will decrease because 28 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of used green hydrogen can be saved. Therefore, it is an issue of national importance after the Paris Climate Agreement. This is why the public is participating in the "tkH2Steel" project by Thyssenkrupp Steel at the Duisburg site. The project is supported by federal and state governments. For electromobility, energy transition, mobility transformation, the construction industry, the packaging industry, and many other sectors, steel remains indispensable.

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Steel production in Germany is to be decarbonized. However, existing overcapacities of steel products must first be reduced.(Image: Th. Isenburg)

Pellets made from iron oxide are the basis for steel production. In the future, their oxygen should be removed not with coke but ideally with green hydrogen, which is obtained using renewable energy, to obtain iron.(Image: Th. Isenburg)

The production of steel is a very energy-intensive process. Therefore, considerable efforts must be made in the expansion of renewable energies (see wind turbine in the background) to make the steel production of the future green.(Image: Th. Isenburg)

In Duisburg, a direct reduction plant is being built at Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe. It is intended to use green hydrogen to produce sustainable steel.(Image: Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe)

Direct reduction requires a lot of hydrogen

In Duisburg, the direct reduction of iron ores, which are in the form of pellets, occurs. For the transition, these plants are initially to be operated with natural gas instead of hydrogen. Subsequently, they can even be operated with green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources. Several direct reduction plants are in operation around the world, using hydrogen and natural gas as reducing gases. The power demand of the first direct reduction plant complex, including the power required for green hydrogen production, corresponds to the electricity generated by 800 wind turbines. With a capacity of 2.5 million tons of directly reduced iron, the first direct reduction plant requires 400 tons of hydrogen per day. The transition of the entire production to Net Zero is to be completed by 2045 at the latest. Only fossil-free or low-CO₂ production methods will then be suitable processes for future business models in light of climate change and the increasing pricing of CO₂.

A lot can already be achieved with natural gas

The use of green hydrogen in the steel industry also depends on the speed at which the hydrogen economy gains momentum in Germany and Europe. It is already clear that there will not be enough green hydrogen in the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is important to use the available hydrogen, using regulatory frameworks, in such a way that it is mainly directed to the areas where the most CO₂ can be avoided. Initially, as mentioned, natural gas will still be used as a reducing agent in the direct reduction plant. This already offers considerable potential for reducing CO₂. In comparison to the conventional blast furnace route, about 50 percent of carbon dioxide can already be avoided by using natural gas instead of coal. Green hydrogen should then be used when it is available in sufficient quantity and at competitive prices. However, further sources and infrastructure are required for this.

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