State aid approval to promote the decarbonization of ArcelorMittal's steel production at its Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt sites was granted by the European Commission.
The project can now be supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) with around 1.3 billion euros. The state of Bremen is contributing around 250 million euros to this funding. ArcelorMittal's project is expected to achieve CO2 savings totaling over 70 million tons by 2041.
“I am particularly pleased that this project will also create industrial beacons in northern and eastern Germany. This is a powerful boost for economic development and the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in these regions. I would like to thank the European Commission for allowing us to successfully bring this fourth major case in the German steel industry to a close. We will now prepare the funding decision immediately,” says Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck.
DRIBE2
The “DRIBE2” project by ArcelorMittal Bremen GmbH consists of several sub-projects. The construction of a direct reduction plant (DRI) in Bremen was selected as part of the “IPCEI Hydrogen” (Important Projects of Common European Interest – H2). The DRI system will supply three electric arc furnaces (EAF) with direct reduced iron, one in Bremen and two others in Eisenhüttenstadt. Funding was applied for for the EAFs as part of the “Decarbonization of Industry” funding program. The European Commission has now approved DRIBE2 as a stand-alone overall project. The issuance of national funding notices is now being prepared.
DRIBE2 is the fourth major funding project for the decarbonization of a steel site in Germany as part of projects selected for the IPCEI Hydrogen. In 2023, Salzgitter AG, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and the companies in Stahl-Holding-Saar have already received funding.
Hydrogen use
The new systems are planned to be commissioned in 2026. The use of hydrogen will increase steadily; ultimately, the plan is to use more than 135,000 tons of renewable hydrogen per year. This is expected to produce more than 3.8 million tons of green steel. The CO2 savings through DRIBE2 of up to 5.8 million tons of CO2 per year at the end of the project period correspond to more than 10 percent of the emissions of the entire steel industry in Germany. The steel industry, in turn, is responsible for a third of industrial greenhouse gas emissions in Germany.
Federal Minister Habeck visited ArcelorMittal in Bremen on February 5, 2024 and took part in the works meeting. There he referred to the relevance of the funding project for the approximately 6,000 employees and the importance of a timely implementation of the project for the economic future of the two locations.
Further transformation steps in the steel industry can be supported through the federal funding for industry and climate protection (BIK) as well as the climate protection agreements, which will be launched in the coming weeks. BIK funding is primarily intended to support medium-sized companies.
