The technological transition to green production is facing the entire European steel industry with major challenges. voestalpine, Austria’s only producer of crude steel and a global pioneer in environmental protection, has drawn up an ambitious phased plan for green steel production. Our commitment and investments in environmental and climate protection form part of our responsibility towards future generations.
greentec steel our ambitious plan for green steel production: in the first step of this phased approach, one electric arc furnace (EAF) powered by green electricity will be built at each of the sites in Linz and Donawitz aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 %. Starting in 2027, the two electric arc furnaces will enable voestalpine to produce around 2.5 million tons of CO2-reduced steel annually: 1.6 million tons in Linz, and 850,000 tons in Donawitz. As of 2030 to 2035, we plan to replace another blast furnace at each of the sites in Linz and Donawitz.
To achieve the goal of steel production with net zero CO2-emissions by 2050, we are actively researching into several new processes and investing in pilot projects that demonstrate new ways to produce steel. Another, particularly important, prerequisite for decarbonizing steel production is the availability of sufficient quantities of renewable energy at commercially realistic prices. This is the only way which tomorrow’s technologies can be applied in a truly competitive manner.
greentec steel ushers in the next generation of steel production. We are investing EUR 1.5 billion over the coming years to achieve this. The significance of this project goes far beyond our Group—greentec steel is Austria’s largest climate protection program.