Turning of the first sod for blast-furnace-gas power plant in Dillingen

The symbolic turning of the first sod by Saarland premier Peter Müller, environment minister Stefan Mörsdorf and representatives from all project participants gave the starting signal on June 27, 2007, for construction work on the Dillingen blast-furnace-gas-fired power generating plant. This plant will utilize surplus blast-furnace gas for generation of electricity and steam, achieving a tangible environmental improvement. The power plant, with a total investment volume of some 100 million €, is to be commissioned in the summer of 2009.

Know-how pooled for innovative project

The participating companies have pooled their know-how in a joint-venture company to permit this ambitious and innovative project: STEAG Saar Energie AG owns 49.9 % of the shares in Gichtgaskraftwerk Dillingen GmbH & Co. KG, with VSE AG holding 25.2 % and ROGESA Roheisengesellschaft Saar mbH 24.9 %. After completion, STEAG Saar Energie will be responsible for operation, and VSE for power management. Prime engineering contractor is AE&E Inova, which is a subsidiary of VonRoll Inova AG, Switzerland, and will design and construct the turnkey plant under overall coordination by STEAG.

Ultra-modern technology to boost environmental safety

Upon completion, this extremely modern and efficient power plant will have an electrical output of around 90 MW, with a thermal output of 230 MW from its combustion system. It will be used for supply of energy to the three operating companies located at Dillingen, i.e., Aktien-Gesellschaft der Dillinger Hüttenwerke (Dillinger Hütte), ROGESA Roheisengesellschaft Saar mbH (ROGESA) and Zentralkokerei Saar GmbH (ZKS). ROGESA and ZKS are both 50% joint subsidiaries of Dillinger Hütte and Saarstahl AG.
The new power plant's generating equipment, consisting of the boiler installation, steam-turbine and generator, is to be spatially and functionally integrated into the existing configuration at the steel-plant site. After commissioning of the new plant, its fuel - surplus blast-furnace gas, a byproduct of the iron-smelting process - will be used entirely for energy generation.

The selection of the best plant technology available will make it possible to use some 2 billion m³ of blast-furnace gas annually to generate 570 million kWh of electricity and 400,000 t of steam for loads installed at the steelmaking plant. The power plant will thus assure best possible environmental protection and maximum energy efficiency. The new installation makes a highly significant contribution to relieving the burden on the environment, since generation of electricity from blast-furnace gas eliminates supply of power from the grid and the associated CO2 emissions.

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