Uniper and Salzgitter signed a cooperation agreement. The goal is for Uniper to provide the SALCOS project in Salzgitter with green hydrogen at a competitive price so that it can make steel that is good for the environment.
Uniper is a company that makes energy all over the world. They are also a leader in the hydrogen field. Salzgitter is one of Europe’s largest steel producers and is leading the way to make steel that doesn’t use a lot of CO2.
The two companies are working together to get hydrogen from Wilhelmshaven, where Uniper is working on two projects for green hydrogen at the same time. First, an import terminal that can turn green ammonia back into hydrogen is planned. Second, Uniper wants to build a huge electrolysis plant with a capacity of up to 1,000 MW. This plant will make green hydrogen. With this in mind, the possibility of a direct connection to the North Sea offshore wind farm is to be looked into. The electrolysis plant and all the hydrogen infrastructure that comes after it act like a “shock absorber.” If there are strong winds, they can store the wind energy quickly as hydrogen and make it easy to move.
The two companies will work together to make Germany’s industry less carbon-based in support of the country’s climate goals by working on specific projects that help achieve this goal.
Gunnar Groebler, Salzgitter: “We are aligning Salzgitter to low CO2 production processes and the circular economy. The secure and economically viable sourcing of green hydrogen is a fundamental prerequisite on our journey toward SALCOS – SAlzgitter Low CO2-Steelmaking. The cooperation with Uniper is another step on the way to leading this game-changing technical transformation to success, together with strong partners.”
Klaus-Dieter Maubach, CEO of Uniper: “We need ‘green electrons’ and ‘green molecules’, if we want to achieve the proclaimed climate protection objectives, while preserving our industry in Germany. The Wilhelmshaven site offers all the necessary preconditions for creating Germany’s first major hydrogen hub. Large-scale hydrogen production facilities are to be built here for the purpose of decarbonizing steel production in Lower Saxony. We also want to develop a solution that will enable the faster integration of the new gigawatt offshore wind farm into the German power grid.”
