Stahlwerk Thüringen steelworks is expected to be connected to the hydrogen grid in 2027.
The Stahlwerk Thüringen steelworks is expected to be connected to the hydrogen grid in 2027. To this end, the partners Stahlwerk Thüringen and the pipeline grid operator Ferngas have signed a letter of intent.
Further steps for the planning and technical preparation of the connection will be worked out soon, the companies announced. Stahlwerk Thüringen has been in the process of decarbonising its products and steel production for some time.
Hydrogen to replace natural gas
According to the company, only renewable electricity is already being used to produce steel. The aim is to gradually replace the natural gas used in production with hydrogen. Initially, hydrogen will account for more than half of the natural gas used to date.
This proportion will then be gradually increased. With the current state of the art, only a small proportion of the processes can be electrified. This would require the plant to be technically converted from its current natural gas operation to a natural gas-hydrogen mix.
Framework conditions must be defined
On 12 July 2023, Ferngas, in cooperation with the other German transmission system operators, published a report on the current state of planning for a hydrogen core grid.
Kevin George Greiling, head of grid management at Ferngas, stressed:
The legislator must now quickly enable the realisation of this hydrogen core grid.
He said that to transport the hydrogen to the steelworks, a 70 km natural gas pipeline would have to be converted and that for this, the pipeline operator also needs the regulatory framework.
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Stahlwerk Thüringen gets hydrogen connection, August 9, 2023
