Salzgitter, EWE eye hydrogen cooperation

Salzgitter and Oldenburg-based energy service provider EWE intend to cooperate on hydrogen projects, Kallanish notes.

This was announced by chief executives Stefan Dohler (EWE) and Gunnar Groebler (Salzgitter AG) last week in Salzgitter. On the occasion of the Handelsblatt-Wasserstoffgipfel, they signed the corresponding memorandum of understanding.

As part of the planned cooperation, EWE and Salzgitter have agreed that EWE will generate and supply green hydrogen, which Salzgitter will use for virtually CO2-free steel production.

“Among other things, we are focusing on large-scale green hydrogen production,” says Dohler. “Drawing on our well-developed infrastructure – especially in the field of cavern storage and the pipeline-based transport of hydrogen – we are offering the foundation for reliably and safely supplying Salzgitter with green hydrogen for steelmaking.”

Groebler regards the envisaged cooperation as a further step towards hydrogen-based steel production and consequently towards almost-CO2-neutral production. “Close cooperation with partners like EWE is a key success factor of this transformation. The planned cooperation is geared towards a long-term, reliable and trust-based relationship,” he adds.

Salzgitter AG will be converting its crude steel production to low-CO2 steel production in three stages by 2033 as part of the SALCOS – Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking – programme. According to Groebler, in the future, this will cut 95% of annual emissions of 8 million tonnes of CO2.

EWE is eyeing large-scale hydrogen production with the IPCEI Clean Hydrogen Coastline project. In the process, it wants to build up to 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity in several subprojects at system-serving sites adjacent to the German North Sea coast. Depending on the sales market, the company can thereby produce up to 40,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen and reliably structure it via cavern storage.

In addition, there is the option of expanding generation capacities into the gigawatt range over the next ten years in line with demand. This course of action, however, would require rapid funding approval at the European level, the company says.