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Robert Habeck (Alliance 90/The Greens), Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, follows a debate in the Bundestag.
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
The final approval from Brussels is still missing, but the federal government's promise is in place: the conversion to low-CO₂ steel production in Bremen is secured.
Bremen - Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck announced on Monday the long-awaited funding commitment for the conversion of the Bremen steelworks.
The federal government supports the switch to climate-neutrally produced steel at ArcelorMittal's locations in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt.
“Everything has been clarified,” said the Green politician at a company staff meeting in Bremen.
The final step from Brussels is still missing with the notification, but the workforce can rely on the funding.
Bremen waited for the decision for more than two years.
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.
ArcelorMittal also wants to convert its production to climate-neutral steel.
To achieve this, the two 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.
The steelworks is currently responsible for half of the country's CO₂ emissions.
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.
According to its own information, ArcelorMittal is an important steel manufacturer in Germany.
More than 3,100 people work for the company in Bremen.
They produce up to 3.7 million tons of crude steel there every year.
Further locations are in Eisenhüttenstadt, Hamburg and Duisburg.
There is also a branch of ArcelorMittal Construction in Sandersdorf-Brehna (Saxony-Anhalt).
dpa