ArcelorMittal stops hydrogen projects: Bremen Senate is horrified!

ArcelorMittal stops hydrogen projects: Bremen Senate is horrified!

In today's steel swamp, the amazing is happening: The steel giant Arcelormittal has decided to put the plans to change its works to Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt on environmentally friendly hydrogen technologies. Instead, coal continues to be produced, and the originally intended investments in a low -emission production are now off the table. According to Deutschlandfunk have not been called up for this purpose of 1.3 billion euros.

The difficult market situation is the main reason for this withdrawal. High electricity prices and the lack of access to green hydrogen are in direct connection with the decision. ArcelorMittal looks at a possible conversion to electricity production, when the prices become more attractive, with which focus on the French location in Dunkirchen, as well as the Ingenieur Report.

A setback for environmental protection and jobs

The waiver of the green conversion was accepted by representatives of the Bremen government with anger. The Bremen Senate was disappointed, while Brandenburg's Prime Minister Woidke emphasized that it was to do everything to secure jobs in Eisenhüttenstadt. These worries are not unfounded, after all, steel production was one of the largest CO₂ emitters in Germany for a long time. In 2022, the steel industry emitted around 51 million tons of CO₂, which constitutes almost a third of the country's entire industrial emissions, such as the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy determined.

With the stop of the decarbonization plans, the schedule also shifts with the aim of significantly reducing CO₂ emissions by 2030. In the meantime, steel production in Germany remains on a descending branch, because the economic situation remains tense. One reason for this are falling prices and the massive competition from cheap imports from China, which take the air to breathe to domestic industry.

long -term perspectives

Despite the current setbacks, ArcelorMittal plans to only install electric light sheets at locations in the medium term, where access to favorable energy is secured. In the long term, the company wants to take the step into electrical steel production as soon as the framework conditions improve. With the development of electrical steel, as it has been produced with scrap trecycling in Georgsmarienhütte for years, Arcelormittal could promptly beat the bridge to green steel production.

The situation is a clear wake -up call for politics. A concerted effort is required to secure the competitiveness of the European steel industry and at the same time not to lose sight of the ambitions regarding climate goals and decarbonization. A good hand is in demand!