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Robert Habeck (Alliance 90/The Greens), Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, announced the long-awaited funding commitment for the conversion of the Bremen steelworks at a works meeting with the steelworks workforce.
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
The final approval from Brussels is still missing, but the federal government's commitment is in place: the conversion to low-CO₂ steel production in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt is secured.
Bremen - Cheers break out, the words of Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck are almost lost in the applause.
“Everything has been clarified,” shouts the Green politician at a works meeting on Monday in the Bremen steelworks.
“All questions have been answered, all agreement has been reached.” With 1.3 billion euros in state aid, the switch to climate-neutrally produced steel is to be promoted at the ArcelorMittal sites in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt.
The notification still lacks the final commitment from Brussels, but the workforce can rely on the funding.
Habeck assured that this step cannot be compared to a school or journeyman exam.
“But everything will be clarified beforehand.” The Federal Ministry of Economics has been sending the necessary documents to Brussels since Monday.
“The project will be approved.”
Bremen waited for these words for more than two years.
“Steel is the future,” the employees chanted in unison when they heard the redeeming news.
“Bremen has a heart of steel.” They recently looked with concern at other large steel companies in Germany that have already started planning for green steel.
The EU Commission had previously granted approval for the steel manufacturers Salzgitter AG, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe in Duisburg and Stahl-Holding-Saar in Saarland.
This is the prerequisite for the federal and state governments to contribute to the conversion costs.
With the funding commitment for the smelters in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt, around a third of the German steel industry has been put “on the path to decarbonization,” said Habeck.
Around seven billion euros are to be invested at the locations.
It is now up to ArcelorMittal to convert its production to climate-neutral steel.
To achieve this, the blast furnaces are to be shut down and replaced by a so-called direct reduction plant (DRI).
This system works with environmentally friendly hydrogen.
Electrically operated melting furnaces are also expected to replace conventional steel converters.
The group wants to start producing climate-neutral steel in the second half of the 2020s - at least that's the plan.
However, there was no clear commitment from the group on Monday.
ArcelorMittal only wants to make a final decision on the conversion after a year of detailed planning.
The prerequisite for this is competitive electricity prices and sufficient hydrogen, said Reiner Blaschek, CEO ArcelorMittal Europe.
“One thing we certainly don’t want is to return the check or not implement the project.
Otherwise we could have saved ourselves the whole thing.”
Companies are not formally forced to spend funding, said Habeck.
“If you don’t spend the money, then I’ll look stupid.” But he is confident and sees ArcelorMittal’s statements as a signal that they want to switch to climate-neutral steel.
The steelworks is currently responsible for half of the CO₂ emissions in the state of Bremen.
The conversion of the hut is one of Bremen's largest projects on the way to climate neutrality, which the country wants to achieve by 2038.
“Today sends a clear signal: Even in 10, 20 and 50 years, Bremen will have a heart of steel.
And that’s really good news,” said Bremen’s Prime Minister Andreas Bovenschulte (SPD).
“As a country, we will support this transformation process with around a quarter of a billion euros.
“
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ArcelorMittal is an important steel manufacturer in Germany.
Around 3,500 people work for the company in Bremen alone, and many jobs in the region are also linked to steel production.
The company produces up to 3.7 million tons of crude steel there per year.
Further locations are in Eisenhüttenstadt, Hamburg and Duisburg.
There is also a branch of ArcelorMittal Construction in Sandersdorf-Brehna (Saxony-Anhalt).
dpa