The industrial map of Germany, the economic engine of the European Union (EU), is changing. The world's leading German iron and steel companies are investing to create a carbon neutral and sustainable metal industry. Aegean Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters' Association made an inspection visit to the Green Steel World Expo & Conference event, where global green steel producers and users came together in Essen, Germany on April 4-5, 2023.
Emphasizing that Germany has an annual iron and steel import of 148 billion dollars, Aegean Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters' Association President Yalçın Ertan said, “In 2022, we have realized 35 billion dollars of our iron and steel exports of 24 billion dollars in Turkey, with an increase of 2,9 percent, to our main market Germany. Within the scope of Green Steel World Expo & Conference, we attended conferences where low carbon steel production and decarbonization processes and hydrogen energy, which is the most important part of this process, were discussed. We see that steel manufacturers meet on a common mission to reduce emissions from the steel industry, which constitutes approximately 7 percent of the world's emissions. We, too, have been working for a long time in line with this sustainability mission of our Association.” said.
The goal of 100% zeroing of carbon emissions
President Ertan said, “We visited the stands of the leading companies of the steel and hydrogen industry in the world, all German companies shared their projects, experiences and goals for green steel and hydrogen production. Thysen Krupp, which contributes 2 percent to the CO29 amount in Germany's total iron and steel production, aims to keep its carbon emissions below 2030 percent by 30 and to zero it by 2045 percent by 100. The company, which aims to use H2026 and innovative melting units in direct reduction facilities as of 2, also has projects for the use of metallurgical gases by converting them as artificial fertilizers and H2 with a carbon capture system. H2 Green Steel, on the other hand, plans to establish a 500% hydrogen direct reduced iron production facility with an electrolyzer capacity of 700-800 MW on a 100-ha land in the Boden-Lulea region in Sweden, in line with its decarbonization targets.” he said.
Recyclable raw materials, renewable energy, low-carbon hydrogen applications, carbon capture methods
Yalçın Ertan said, “Outokumpu, which has invested more than 15 million euros in projects mostly aimed at increasing energy efficiency and reducing waste generation in the last 450 years, is among the important suppliers of the European and American markets in terms of sustainable green production. The company, which uses raw materials with recyclable content at a rate of 94 percent, has achieved a reduction of 2016 percent of C02 emissions since 18,4, and is the first company to commit to a 1.5 °C increase target in line with Science Based Target. Vulcan Green Steel emphasizes that many green measures must be applied from mineral to metal for steel decarbonization. In this context; cyclicality, efficiency, renewable power, low-carbon hydrogen applications, carbon capture methods and fuel changes are among the applicable methods. H2 is the most important component in green steel production.” said.
New production facilities with green hydrogen capacity
Mentioning that Vulcan Green Steel is planning to realize a mega green steel project in the Oman region with an investment of 3 billion dollars, Ertan continued his words as follows:
“The product carbon footprint is targeted to be less than 0,5 tons of CO2 per tonne of crude steel. The company currently operates the largest privately owned integrated steel producer in the Persian Gulf region and a 2.4 million-tonne facility using DRI technology. The company has achieved 1,85 tons, compared to an average carbon footprint of 1.05 tons per tonne of steel globally. It plans to reduce the current carbon amount to below 0,8 tons by increasing the renewable energy potentials in existing facilities and to establish a production facility with a green hydrogen capacity of 2030 million tons in Oman by 5.”
Substitution with renewable carbon sources
Yalçın Ertan said, “On the SMS Group side, within the framework of its mission to create a carbon neutral and sustainable metal industry, it is aimed to minimize the damage to the environment by using minimum carbon. The remainder can be replaced by renewable carbon sources such as biochar, gas or recycled carbon from waste plastics. Emphasizing the need to work especially on by-products in steel production, the company mentioned the method that takes the coke oven gas and converts it into synthesis gas, which is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, and feeds it back to the process. Ensuring decarbonization in production within the framework of the EU Green Deal has become an inevitable requirement of our industry. In this context, at the event where different experts, system developers and service providers related to hydrogen and green steel production came together, we as the Association have the opportunity to closely follow the developments and aim to provide our sector with a different perspective on sustainable production, which includes processes and processes related to green steel production. ” he concluded his speech.