Offshore wind energy from EnBW for the Salzgitter Group

Karlsruhe/Salzgitter. The Salzgitter Group works closely with customers and partners to achieve its climate targets – in keeping with the strategic mission “Partnering for Transformation.” The energy supplier EnBW and Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH signed a long-term electricity supply contract. The electricity is set to come from the offshore wind farm “He Dreiht” in the North Sea.

With this power purchase agreement (PPA), Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH secured the supply of 50 megawatts (MW) of green electricity for 15 years from the new 900 MW wind farm located around 90 kilometers north of the island of Borkum, which is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2025. This will further safeguard the transformation project known as SALCOS^® – Salzgitter Low CO₂ Steelmaking. Producing green hydrogen using sustainably generated energy is a core element in the production of virtually carbon-free steel.

"This cooperation with EnBW is a further building block in our energy strategy to secure the demand for regeneratively generated electricity for Salzgitter AG and in particular for the SALCOS^® transformation program. Here, too, we are working with strong partners - true to our mission of 'Partnering for Transformation'," says Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter AG. "Like us, our supplier and customer industries are facing the important tasks of establishing sustainable production and process chains. With the conclusion of this PPA, we are taking the path to climate-neutral production one step further."

“Salzgitter represents the third strong partner we have secured for our offshore wind farm ‘He Dreiht’, which is released without subsidies,” says EnBW board member Georg Stamatelopoulos. “PPAs are a key element of the energy transition and can make a significant contribution to the fast expansion of renewable energies. Long-term PPAs secure the necessary investment while also enabling energy-intensive companies to achieve ambitious climate targets,” he explains. Almost one year ago, EnBW signed the first PPA for “He Dreiht” with Fraport, followed more recently by another one with Evonik. In the meantime, the supplier selection process for the main components of the project has largely been completed. EnBW will make the final investment decision concerning the construction of the offshore wind farm next year.

With many of its business units, the Salzgitter Group is already a partner for the generation of renewable energies. As a full-line supplier, for example, Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH (ILG), has been supplying heavy plate for the wind energy industry’s onshore market since 1996 and increasingly for the offshore market since 2010. Other products manufactured by the group for wind turbines include HFI longitudinally welded steel pipes, precision steel pipes for nacelles and large-diameter pipes for the substructures of offshore wind farms.