Germany’s largest steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Steel has partnered with petroleum company bp to accelerate decarbonisation of its steel production.

The companies will promote policies to support the development of low-carbon hydrogen and renewable energy solutions in steel production in Europe.

Thyssenkrupp Steel accounts for 2.5% of Germany’s carbon dioxide emissions, mainly at the Duisburg site, where the company operators coal-fired blast furnaces.

It intends to make its steel production climate-neutral by 2045 and is exploring supply options for both blue and green hydrogen, as well as power from wind and solar power generation plants, through power purchase agreements.

Thyssenkrupp Steel currently produces 11-million tonnes of crude steel a year and is targeting the production of 400 000 t of carbon-dioxide-reduced steel by 2025.

In turn, bp is working to pursue green hydrogen production at its refineries in Lingen in Germany, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and Castellón in Spain. It is developing both blue and green hydrogen production projects around the world, including in the UK and Australia.

BP regions, cities and solutions VP William Lin says the steel and energy industries have long been closely linked. BP provides fuel and feedstock for steel production, while its platforms, pipelines and turbine towers are made from steel.

As part of its strategy to provide a range of decarbonisation solutions to corporates, bp is already investing in and working to develop a portfolio of industrial-scale hydrogen projects in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and Australia.

“With our aligned ambitions and complementary investments, Thyssenkrupp Steel and bp can help this hard-to-abate sector to decarbonise faster,” Lin avers.

Thyssenkrupp Steel chief technology officer Dr Arnd Köfler comments that the decarbonisation of the steel industry will require enormous quantities of low-carbon and, in the long term, green hydrogen. This will increasingly require the use of electricity from renewable sources.

“All this can only be achieved through a well-developed hydrogen infrastructure with a supra-regional pipeline network.”

The memorandum of understanding signed between the companies is an important milestone to set the course for a reliable supply of energy in the future.