Supervisory boards decide: green steel will be produced in the Saar region.

After a detailed review of various location and technology options, the supervisory bodies of Germany’s third-largest steel producer in aggregate decided in favor of comprehensive transformation of steel production at the plants in Dillingen and Völklingen. This demonstrates a clear commitment to the home location of Saarland, which previous analyses have shown to be the most competitive. Preparations and measures to implement the first phase of the project will now be initiated by 2027.

Reinhard Störmer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Montan-Stiftung-Saar and Chairman of the Supervisory Boards of SHS, Saarstahl and Dillinger, said: “Our goal is nothing less than to be a pioneer in carbon reduction. With this concept, our steel companies will significantly advance the transition of the Saar into a green economic region. With this decision, the Montan-Stiftung-Saar Trust is once again fulfilling its mission to safeguard the steel industry and its jobs long term.”

Over the next five years the new production route will include an electric arc furnace (EAF) at the Völklingen plant and an EAF and direct reduced iron (DRI) plant for the production of sponge iron at the Dillinger plant, in addition to the established blast furnace route. The capacity of the plants will be about 3.5 million tons of crude steel, obtained from direct reduced iron and scrap. Green hydrogen will already be used to some extent by the time the new route is commissioned in 2027. One blast furnace in Dillingen will be closed during the commissioning phase, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. This strategy is supplemented with the green steel from Saarstahl Ascoval in northern France, which is already being produced with an EAF using scrap and is rolled into green rails at Saarstahl Rail in Hayange.

“The transformation is the most important project in the history of Saarland’s steel industry. We will lay the foundation with this for a new, green value chain with hydrogen in the region. Our steel is already the basis of today’s energy and mobility transformation. With green steel for our core automotive and offshore wind markets starting in 2027, we are securing the sustainability of our companies,” said Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Chairman of the Board of Management of SHS and CEO of Dillinger and Saarstahl, explaining the economic significance of the concept.

In the first phase of the transformation, a single-digit billion-euro sum will be invested in constructing the required facilities at the two sites. Despite a solid balance sheet, SHS and its subsidiaries Saarstahl and Dillinger cannot finance this sum alone. This significant funding gap for the required investments can only be closed with government funding at the federal and EU level. SHS will seek the maximum funding quota with the adopted concept and will soon be submitting the corresponding applications.

Montan-Stiftung-Saar

Stefan Rauber, Managing Director

Phone: +49 6898 102067, e-mail: srauber@montan-stiftung-saar.com

SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar:

Martin Reinicke, phone: +49 6898 102211, e-mail: martin.reinicke@stahl-holding-saar.de

Juliane Wernet, phone: +49 6898 102234, e-mail: juliane.wernet@stahl-holding-saar.de

About the Montan-Stiftung-Saar foundation

Montan-Stiftung-Saar is the owner of SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co KGaA. It is thus the indirect owner of Saarstahl AG and the majority shareholder of AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke (Dillinger).

About SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA

SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA is an operational management holding company with around 14,000 employees and a sales volume of roughly EUR 5 billion. As Germany’s third largest steel producer, its companies produce around 4 million tons of steel that is ready for shipment. It actively performs tasks for the two major steel companies in Saarland, Aktien-Gesellschaft der Dillinger Hüttenwerke (Dillinger) and Saarstahl AG. This has enabled both companies to work more closely together beyond the previously existing cooperative ventures and to have a stronger presence in their markets. The companies are working in unison to grow, to become more flexible and to increase competitiveness in their respective markets. The SHS Group (the parent company of Saarstahl) is wholly owned by the private-law industrial foundation Montan-Stiftung-Saar, which aims to strengthen and safeguard the two major steel companies on the Saar. For more information: www.stahl-holding-saar.de

About Dillinger and Saarstahl

Dillinger is a world leader in the manufacture of steel heavy plate for the steel construction, machine manufacturing, offshore, offshore wind power and line pipe sectors. Saarstahl is a worldleading manufacturer of premium wire rod and bar steel for the automotive industry, the construction industry, and for general machine manufacturing. Both companies belong to SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar and want to contribute with innovative products and intelligent technologies – together with their customers – to finding answers to global challenges including climate protection, energy efficiency, mobility and safety. More information can be found at www.dillinger.de  or www.saarstahl.de