Currently, around 750 people are working on the construction site every day; in upcoming construction phases, that number will rise to over 1,200. More than 500 suppliers have been contracted for this major project, over 90 percent of whom are based in Austria. greentec steel is thus not only a technological transformation project but also a significant driver of value creation for the site and the region.
The central unit is the electric arc furnace. The hall for the EAF is currently under construction. At approximately 100 meters long, 60 meters wide, and 65 meters high, its floor area is roughly equivalent to a soccer field. The steel structure of the hall will be completed in July 2026.
In parallel, the central infrastructure for the new electric steel route is being developed. This includes the scrap supply as the primary raw material source, the HBI storage facility to complement the raw material strategy, the pneumatic tube system for process analytics and quality assurance, and the microtunnel as the backbone of the energy supply. By the end of 2026, the scrap supply, the HBI storage facility, and the pneumatic tube-based process analytics will go into operation; the power supply via the microtunnel will follow in November 2026.
A microtunnel approximately 1.7 kilometers long was constructed specifically for the 220-kV power lines, routing the lines safely and space-efficiently beneath the plant grounds.
At full capacity, the EAF will produce approximately 1.6 million tons of steel annually—enough for an average of 2.66 million passenger cars (at approximately 600 kilograms of steel per vehicle).
The energy requirements of the EAF in Linz The energy requirements of the EAF are equivalent to the output of approximately 87 wind turbines or roughly 383 soccer fields equipped with photovoltaic systems. At the same time, the energy used is utilized efficiently: In the future, approximately 75,000 MWh of electricity per year will be generated from the waste heat of the EAF —enough to power an electric car for about 400 million kilometers.
Within the framework of our focus greentec steel, we provide an overview of our concrete steps on the way towards long-term green steel production and the innovative processes we are using on this way. We provide information about the challenges we face and the breakthrough technologies we are already researching today in order to achieve our goal of steel production with net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. funded by the BMK’s environmental support program.
Die voestalpine ist ein weltweit führender Stahl- und Technologiekonzern mit kombinierter Werkstoff- und Verarbeitungskompetenz. Die global tätige Unternehmensgruppe verfügt über rund 500 Konzerngesellschaften und -standorte in mehr als 50 Ländern auf allen fünf Kontinenten. Sie notiert seit 1995 an der Wiener Börse. Mit ihren Premium-Produkt- und Systemlösungen zählt sie zu den führenden Partnern der Automobil- und Hausgeräteindustrie sowie der Luftfahrt- und Öl- & Gasindustrie und ist darüber hinaus Weltmarktführer bei Bahninfrastruktursystemen, bei Werkzeugstahl und Spezialprofilen. Die voestalpine bekennt sich zu den globalen Klimazielen und verfolgt mit greentec steel einen klaren Plan zur Dekarbonisierung der Stahlproduktion.