voestalpine greentec steel: Groundbreaking in Donawitz for Austria's largest climate protection program

9 October 2023 |

For the road to a green future, voestalpine has developed an ambitious and feasible step-by-step plan with greentec steel. In a first step, one electric arc furnace will be installed at each of the two sites in Linz and Donawitz. This technology conversion will enable the steel and technology group to reduce its emissions by up to 30% - equivalent to a saving of almost 4 million tons of CO₂per year. The investment volume is around 1.5 billion euros. The traditional groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of construction work at the Donawitz site.

Groundbreaking in Donawitz — The Managing Directors of voestalpine Wire Technology together with other Managing Directors of the Metal Engineering Division at the division's groundbreaking ceremony.

Construction of the electric arc furnace (EAF) will start in 2024, and just three years later the EAF in Donawitz will go into operation and produce around 850,000 tons of CO₂-reduced steel per year in full operation.

In contrast to the previous LD process (Linz-Donawitz process), which uses coal and coke as reducing agents, the EAF can be operated without fossil fuels.

Depending on quality requirements, a mix of scrap, liquid pig iron and HBI ("Hot Briquetted Iron") is used.

Performance in Wire was also present at the division's groundbreaking ceremony at the Donawitz site

With the technology conversion and the construction of the electric arc furnace, CO₂-reduced steel will be available and used for voestalpine Wire Technology wire products from 2027.

It was an honor for us to be part of this milestone for the green future of steel production and at the same time the start of Austria's largest climate protection program!

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