Page 40 - ITAtube Journal 1 2023

Press releases
SMS group GmbH
thyssenkrupp Steel awards a con- tract worth billions of euros to SMS group for a direct reduction plant
One of the world’s largest industrial de- carbonization projects gets underway
thyssenkrupp Steel places an order with SMS for the engineering, delivery and construction of a hydrogen-powered direct reduction plant, two innovative melters, and the associated auxiliary units at the Duisburg location.
One of the world’s largest industrial decarbonization projects gets underway with an order volume for SMS alone of over 1.8 billion euros.
Groundbreaking concept: direct reduction plant with Midrex technology combined with two innovative melters, with a capacity of 2.5 million metric tons of directly reduced iron.
The startup is planned for the end of 2026. Significant step for industrial climate protection in Europe: annual saving of over 3.5 million metric tons of CO2.
thyssenkrupp Steel places an order with SMS group, Düsseldorf, for the engineer- ing, delivery and construction of the first hydrogen-powered direct reduction plant at the Duisburg location. This marks the start of one of the biggest industrial decar-
bonization projects worldwide, which at one stroke will avoid more than 3.5 million metric tons of CO2 per year in the future. The order volume for SMS amounts to over 1.8 billion euros, and also marks the largest single order in the history of the company. Moreover, significant additional structural building services will be required in addi- tion to infrastructure and media connec- tions. The preliminary tasks can be started immediately, under the scope for an earlier start to work that has been approved. The plant will have a capacity of 2.5 million metric tons of directly reduced iron (DRI), and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. The overall project remains subject to European Union approval under state aid provisions, as well as the final funding decision. Both are expected in the coming months. The state of North Rhine-West- phalia and the German government have already signaled substantial financial sup- port for the project.
Replacement of CO2-intensive primary steel manufacture begins
The contract award marks a decisive tech- nological turnaround for Germany’s big- gest steelmaker in its more than 200-year history: As part of the tkH2Steel transfor- mation concept, the replacement of CO2-in- tensive steel production by climate-friendly technologies is now beginning. Up to this point, coal-based hot iron production in
the blast furnace always involved emitting large amounts of CO2, amounting to about 20 million metric tons per year from the Duisburg location alone. Hydrogen-based processes in direct reduction plants offer a significant basis for manufacturing car- bon-neutral steel in the future. thyssenk- rupp Steel is already planning to avoid as much as 6 million metric tons of CO2 by 2030, representing well in excess of 30 per- cent of its emissions. The transformation to carbon-neutral production should be completed by 2045 at the latest.
ITAtube Journal May 2023
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