- Salzgitter subsidiary HKM concludes contract with Tenova for engineering, supply and construction of an electric arc furnace in Duisburg
- Germany’s largest electric arc furnace with a capacity of up to 2.5 million tons
- Important step towards the decarbonization of steel production as part of the Salzgitter Group’s transformation strategy
- Implementation phase starts as early as August 2026 – completion planned for 2029
Salzgitter AG has initiated the transformation at its Duisburg site by awarding a contract for a central plant for future low-CO2 steel production. The recently fully acquired subsidiary Hüttenwerke Krupp-Mannesmann GmbH (HKM) and Tenova signed a contract on July 28, 2026, for the delivery, construction, and joint commissioning of an electric arc furnace and essential ancillary technical equipment.
With a tapping weight of 285 tons and a capacity of up to 2.5 million tons, the plant will be the largest electric arc furnace in Germany and the second largest within the European Union. The planned operating point is around 2 million tons. The project is being funded with €200 million by the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the “Federal Funding Program for Industry and Climate Protection.” This funding underscores the industrial and climate policy significance of the project for the transformation of steel production in Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia. The project will enter the implementation phase immediately after the contract award, in August 2026. Completion of the electric arc furnace is scheduled for 2029.
Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter AG, comments:
“With the construction of the electric arc furnace, HKM is being directly integrated into the Salzgitter Group’s transformation strategy towards low-CO2 steel production. This reinforces the future prospects of the Duisburg site and simultaneously further develops important industrial expertise in Germany. The swift awarding of the contract demonstrates our determination to implement our strategy and is now bringing the decarbonization of steel production in Duisburg to fruition quickly and concretely. The electric arc furnace will lay the foundation for sustainable and competitive steel production at HKM and strengthen our position as a leading supplier of green steel for industrial value chains.”
Andreas Betzler, spokesperson for the management of HKM:
“The awarding of the contract for the electric arc furnace is a significant milestone for HKM and for the future of our site. This step follows a highly intensive tendering process in which numerous colleagues worked with great commitment, expertise, and reliability. The funding from the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia also sends an important signal for the industrial transformation in Germany. We will now proceed with implementation without delay.”
Dr. Markus Dorndorf, Managing Director of Tenova Projects GmbH:
“We are delighted by the trust that HKM and Salzgitter AG have placed in us. By employing our proven technologies and our extensive experience in the realization of large-scale metallurgical plants, we are confident that we can make a significant contribution to the success of this project. The electric arc furnace at HKM will be the most powerful and energy-efficient in Germany, while the introduction of this advanced technology represents one of the most significant transformation projects in the European steel industry and demonstrates that industrial competitiveness and decarbonization can successfully go hand in hand.”
The new electric arc furnace is equipped with Consteel® technology. Scrap is fed continuously via a conveyor belt system. Additionally, the waste heat from the exhaust gases is used for scrap preheating. This ensures exceptionally high energy efficiency. At the same time, the continuous material feed increases productivity and improves the plant’s grid compatibility, as significantly lower peak loads occur compared to conventional electric arc furnaces with scrap basket feeding. The plant can be flexibly loaded with a wide range of feedstocks, such as sponge iron (DRI/HBI) and steel scrap, thus enabling the production of a very broad spectrum of steel grades.
The scope of the order includes not only the electric arc furnace but also essential ancillary systems required for the operation of a continuously fed furnace. These include, in particular, the conveyor-driven scrap supply, the furnace transformer for providing the electrical power for the melting process, the water management system for cooling the furnace, transformer, and other system components, as well as the exhaust gas cleaning system for capturing and cleaning the process gases.
This project represents another key step in the transformation of steel production within the Salzgitter Group. The complete integration of HKM into the Group, the swift decision-making in the relevant bodies, and the awarding of the contract underscore the Group’s ability to act decisively in implementing its decarbonization strategy.