Page 8 - Best of STIL 2018 English

sponsible EU Commissioner Ms. Cecilia Malmström summed it up very well and in step with our views when she said: “The rules of international trade cannot be violated without a reaction from our side. Our response is measured, propor- tionate and fully in line with WTO rules.”
The main thing now is to act decisively in line with these insights.
sion-makers in Berlin and Brussels what impacts their perhaps well-intentioned actions actually have. Environmental populism also exists. We are far away from having a level international playing field when it comes to environmental and energy policy-related topics. Any number of climate summits won’t change that. If things progress along these lines, this set of issues could grow into a genuine threat to the existence of industrial activities in Germany or even Europe.
We are realizing one of the very first practiced cross-sector interconnection projects
STIL: What consequences do you draw from this? Several competitors are invest- ing in metallurgic sites outside of the EU, such as in the USA.
Prof. Fuhrmann: I’m a realist. Dialog with politicians can, if successful, prevent the worst from happening, though it won’t bring about sweeping rationality. And “relocating” metallurgy work is out of the question as we want to continue operating our integrated steel works
in Salzgitter. We are therefore working intensively on alternative technologies which could see hydrogen replacing coke in pig iron production. This shift could avoid the generation of CO2 and is an approach that we believe makes sense.
This will mean that we will have to leave the conventional blast furnace route in defined and economically responsible steps in order to notably reduce our CO2 emissions further.
STIL: How will this proceed?
Prof. Fuhrmann: The SALCOS pro-
ject (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) maps out three development steps for
the integrated steel works in Salzgitter. We will naturally keep a constant eye on the market and our customers, and this won’t be rushed “open-heart surgery”. All three steps have already been described in concrete terms and established as tech- nically feasible – which also sets us apart from competitors’ concepts. That’s why we are able to submit a concrete offer to politicians today, committing to make the adjustment quickly and not after ten or more years of constant technical testing. We would be in a position to transition into large-scale operations very quickly. This is the only way to achieve significant CO2 savings in a relatively short space of time.
STIL: What concrete steps are we under- taking on the road to SALCOS?
Prof. Fuhrmann: As part of the GrInHy project, we are already operating what is currently the most powerful high-tem- perature electrolysis testing facility. In 2020, this facility will be replaced by one five times the size, as part of the follow-up project GrInHy2.0. In addition, we want
STIL: The upheaval in international
trade is only one element of the external challenges we face. This includes the chal- lenges connected with Germany’s energy transition, the trade in CO emissions
2
and the increasing network charges for
electricity.
Prof. Fuhrmann: We in Germany have to be careful that energy prices don’t get completely out of hand – both for private customers and industry. The pending additional move away from lignite alone could lead to another considerable rise in electricity prices. And artificially shorten- ing supply on the gas market by rejecting Nord Stream II for political reasons – as some are considering – would be any- thing but smart. It goes without saying that this is all an immense burden on
the Salzgitter Group, as our business is aligned internationally in many areas of the Group and our competitors – some
of whom operate within the EU, but particularly those outside of Europe – are unfamiliar with political interventions
of this kind. It is and remains a constant duty to clearly show politicians and deci-
Vorstand meets Azubis: 21 trainees from across all Business Units had the chance to ask any questions and discuss key issues with Group Management
8 SALZGITTER INSIDE
Photo: Carsten Brand