SALCOS® – Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking, the pathway to carbon neutral steel for value chains

Session
MO.2.B || Decarbonized Mobility Along the Value Chain

Authors
Traupe, Jens; Gintaut, Thorsten

Abstract
Salzgitter AG is the second biggest steelmaker in Germany. The main share of production takes place in the company´s integrated steel works based in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, Germany. The plant is focused high-quality flat steel, i.a. for the automotive sector. With respect to future decarbonization of primary steelmaking, Salzgitter AG plans to take advantage of a unique feature of ferrous metallurgy: Hydrogen can replace carbon in iron ore reduction processes, leading to the final formation of water (H2O) rather than CO2. Process heat for steelmaking is going be supplied by electrical energy from renewable sources instead of carbon. To clearly distinguish our approach from CO2 usage (CCU) or disposal (CCS) concepts, we coined the term “Carbon Direct Avoidance” (CDA). We are convinced that avoidance of CO2 formation directly in steelmaking processes is a more sustainable and energetically more sensible way, compared to CCU or CCS. For this, SALCOS® can be the key enabler for climate neutrality in all important steel using value chains.