German steelmaker Salzgitter AG has announced that it has signed a power purchase agreement with Swedish power company Vattenfall to push ahead with their joint goal of decarbonizing industrial production processes. Accordingly, Vattenfall will supply fossil-free electricity from the Nordlicht 1 offshore wind farm over a period of 15 years from 2028.
The Nordlicht 1 wind farm is currently being developed in the north of Borkum and is due to be completed in 2028. Salzgitter will then annually purchase around 300 GWh of electricity for steelmaking processes.
“With our SALCOS® program, we are already in the middle of the transformation of steel production towards low-CO2 production processes, making us a leader in the steel industry. Green steel needs green energy: This agreement is therefore the next important step in securing our energy requirements for low CO2 production,” Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter, commented.