Electricity for greentec steel: transformer installed in the south substation
This means that the existing facilities that currently use 110 kV must also be directly connected to the 220 kV network of the Austrian Power Grid (APG). This connection will comprise three new large primary transformers in the south substation.
Huge transformers
The three 300 MVA transformers are the most powerful at voestalpine and are among the largest transformers in the greater Linz region. They were produced in Weiz and, each with a weight of roughly 440 tons and enormous dimensions, were delivered in individual components by railway and heavy roadway transport. The largest single transport was that of the transformer boiler with a weight of roughly 270 tons.
Additional work activities
The final assembly activities and the filling of insulation oil took place in the south substation over the past months and has now been successfully completed. By the time the transformers are commissioned in the autumn of 2026, they will have been connected to the APG 220 kV switchgear and the voestalpine 110 kV switchgear. They will then provide power to the existing production facilities.
Did you know?
Transformers transform voltage levels in power grids, meaning that high-voltage grids can be connected to each other through medium-voltage and low-voltage grids, and electricity can be transmitted over long distances with low loss. Transformers are among the most important components in the supply of energy.
To greentec steel
The greentec steel project of voestalpine is an ambitious step-by-step plan that makes a valuable contribution to the achievement of the climate goals. As a first step, the voestalpine Group plans to replace two blast furnaces with two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) by the year 2027. The investment volume amounts to roughly 1.5 billion euros.
Carbon emissions can be reduced by up to 30% as early as 2029 by making this switch from the blast furnace to the EAF. This corresponds to a savings of nearly 4 million tons of CO2 per year, amounting to nearly 5% of the carbon emissions in Austria. This makes greentec steel the largest climate protection program in Austria.
The two electric-arc furnaces will enable voestalpine to produce roughly 2.5 million tons of carbon-reduced steel by the year 2027, roughly 1.6 million tons in Linz and 850,000 tons in Donawitz. Learn more about greentec steel here.