Steel giant ArcelorMittal stops decarbonization in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt!

Steel giant ArcelorMittal stops decarbonization in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt!

Eisenhüttenstadt, Deutschland - A bitter decision for the German steel industry: ArcelorMittal Europe has announced the stop of its decarbonization plans for the flat steelworks in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt. The reason? The company considers CO₂-reduced steel production to be economically intolerable, such as machine market. Although a contract with the Federal Government provided funding of 1.3 billion euros and the start of construction for June 2025, Arcelormittal has now decided to do without these funds.

The company remained behind the expectations in the past: despite funding for over 1 billion euros, it never used government support. CEO Reiner Blaschek justifies this step with the difficult economic situation. High electricity prices and the inadequate availability of green hydrogen simply do not make a changeover to low -emission production.

a setback for the climate goals

The Bremen Senate reacted with great disappointment to the decision of ArcelorMittal. 250 million euros were already ready to advance the conversion of steel production. What remains is a bitter aftertaste: "We still have to stick to our goal of making steel production more sustainable," said a spokesman for the Senate Administration.

Not only in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt resistance. IG Metall criticizes Arcelormittal's decision as strategically short -sighted and calls for a crisis summit for the entire steel industry. According to the IG Metall, negative effects on the already desired climate goals and the employment in the industry could no longer be ignored, as engineer emphasized.

The challenges of the steel industry

green hydrogen is considered the key technology for climate -friendly steel production. But reality looks different: it is currently rare and expensive, precisely because its production needs a lot of electricity from renewable energy sources. In Germany, the steel and iron industry causes between 6 and 7 % of industrial CO₂ emissions, which makes the urgency of change all the more, as BDEW. In contrast to ArcelorMittal, companies such as Thyssenkrupp, Salzgitter and the Stahl-Holding-Saar continue their decarbonization plans. For example, Thyssenkrupp is investing around 3 billion euros in its renovation, while Salzgitter plans to build up its own hydrogen capacities with over 2 billion euros. The crucial question remains: How can industry receive the necessary planning security and financial support in order to actually change change?

In this tense situation, it will be crucial that the steel industry and political decision -makers work together to master the challenges and not to lose sight of the ambitious climate goals.