Uniper and Salzgitter agree close cooperation in supplying the SALCOS® transformation project with green hydrogen from Uniper’s major Green Wilhelmshaven® hydrogen project
- Especially grid-compatible concept of Uniper electrolysis plant in Wilhelmshaven through potential direct connection to new offshore gigawatt wind farm
- Feasibility study of pipeline transport and storage of green hydrogen
- Salzgitter and Uniper plan to work together with other prestigious partners
- Joint positioning through policy makers and regulations setting general investment conducive conditions in place
On February 17, Uniper and Salzgitter AG concluded a cooperation agreement with the aim of Uniper supplying the SALCOS project in Salzgitter with green hydrogen at competitive conditions for the production of climate-compatible steel. Uniper is an international energy corporation and a pioneer in the hydrogen field. Salzgitter AG ranks among Europe’s largest steel producers and is pioneering the transformation toward low CO2 steel production.
The cooperation is focused on supplying hydrogen from Wilhelmshaven where Uniper is developing two projects in parallel for green hydrogen: Firstly, an import terminal capable of converting green ammonia back into hydrogen is planned. Secondly, Uniper envisages building a large electrolysis plant that, with a capacity of up to 1,000 MW, will produce green hydrogen. With this in mind, the possibility of a direct connection to the offshore wind farm, to be built in the North Sea, is to be investigated. The electrolysis plant and the entire downstream hydrogen infrastructure function similar to a shock absorber that, if strong winds blow, can store the wind energy expediently as hydrogen and make it transportable.
With the aim of supplying Salzgitter through the evolving German hydrogen pipeline network and for the development of cavern storage facilities, Uniper and Salzgitter AG will be cooperating with additional prestigious partners. Together, the two companies will drive the ambitious vision of decarbonizing Germany’s industry in support of the climate targets by contributing to this objective with specific projects.
Gunnar Groebler, Salzgitter AG: “We are aligning Salzgitter AG 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 SE: “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.”
For more information, please contact:
Uniper SE
Lucas Wintgens
Pressesprecher
T +49 160 95 65 30 04
[email protected]
Salzgitter AG
Markus Heidler
Leiter Investor Relations / Leiter Konzernkommunikation
T + 49 5341 21 2701
[email protected]
About Salzgitter-AG
With a crude steel capacity in excess of 7 million tons, more than 25,000 employees in approximately 150 subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and external sales totaling around € 10 billion, the Salzgitter Group ranks among Europe’s leading steel and technology corporations. The declared goal of the “Salzgitter AG 2030” strategy is for the company to become a leader in the circular economy. In the integrated steelworks in Salzgitter, 5,500 employees produce strip steel products for automotive manufacturers and their suppliers, for the household appliance industry, as well as for steel tubes producers, re-rollers and the construction industry.
About Uniper
Uniper is an international energy company with around 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2-neutral in Europe by 2035. With about 35 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europe’s leading gas companies. In 2020, Uniper had a gas turnover of more than 220 bcm. Uniper is also a reliable partner for municipalities, public utilities, and industrial companies for developing and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on their way to decarbonizing their activities. As a pioneer in the field of hydrogen, Uniper is active worldwide along the entire value chain and is implementing projects to make hydrogen usable as a mainstay of energy supply.
The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf and currently the third-largest listed German utility. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also the third-largest producer of CO2-free energy in Europe.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Uniper SE Management and other information currently available to Uniper. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. Uniper SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to modify them to conform with future events or developments.
