Page 18 - Best of 2019 English

Salzgitter AG and Tenova sign the memorandum of understanding (from left): Dr. Volker Hille, Corporate Technology Salzgitter AG; Dr. Markus Dorndorf, Product Manager Melt Shops Tenova; Ulrich Grethe, Member of the Group Management Board Salzgitter AG; Paolo Argenta, Executive Vice-President Upstream Tenova; Christian Schrade, Managing Director of Tenova Metals Deutschland GmbH; Dr. Alexander Redenius, Head of Department Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung
for which model calculations indicate enormous savings potential: if steel production in its entire- ty were to be converted, CO2 emissions could be reduced by up to 26 % by around 2025 and by as much as 95 % by 2050.
Salzgitter AG and Tenova signed a memoran- dum of understanding affirming their partner- ship-based cooperation so as to push ahead with the SALCOS® project. Tenova – a Techint Group company – is a global specialist for innovative, reli- able and sustainable solutions in the metal and
Salzgitter could have a tower like this one day: ENERGIRON-ZR direct reduction plant built by Salzgitter partner Tenova in Egypt
mining industries. SALCOS® will benefit from Tenova's ENERGIRON-ZR direct reduction technology: this was developed jointly by Tenova and its partner Danieli and is particularly well suited to the flexible operation that is envisaged.
Experts in the Group have no doubt that Salzgit- ter has embarked on a path that is both feasible and sustainable with its strategy of CO2 avoid- ance. “Technically speaking it can all be done;
the technologies are essentially in place,” says Dr. Alexander Redenius, Head of Resource Efficiency and R&D Coordination at Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH. Management see its decision as amply confirmed by the increasing readiness on the part of other steelmakers to move in a similar direction. “As far as we’re concerned, this proves we’ve been on the right track right from the word go,” says Dr. Volker Hille.
New regulatory framework needed
However, regulatory conditions are required so as to be able to switch steelworks operations without comprising product quality and plant availability. Here, the financial hurdles are harder to overcome than the technical obstacles. From a business perspective, it currently makes no sense for a European steelmaker to invest in direct reduction technology with electric steel production. The costs of natural gas, hydrogen and electrical energy – including ancillary costs – are too high by comparison with coal. Investments in new plant technology, however, can only be justified if steel can still be produced at competitive rates.
For this reason, the underlying conditions for the domestic steel industry will have to change
– not least in the interests of climate protection. This includes subsidizing investment measures. “SALCOS® can’t be implemented without consid- erable public start-up finance – this is something we’re communicating quite openly”, says Salzgitter CEO Prof. Heinz Jörg Fuhrmann.
“The SALCOS® concept could become a crucial milestone for our industry”
Paolo Argenta, Executive Vice-President Upstream, Tenova
18 HYDROGEN
Photos: SZAG, Carsten Brand, Tenova