Salzgitter contracts Primetals for EAF

Salzgitter AG and Primetals Technologies have signed a contract for the engineering, supply and erection of the first electric arc furnace (EAF) and the development of technical infrastructure at the strip mill in Salzgitter, Germany. The group had earlier released an amount of €723 million ($718m) for its long-term project SALCOS (SAlzgitter Low CO2Steelmaking) at its strip making unit Salzgitter Flachstahl.

The EAF is an AC module with three electrodes and will have an annual capacity of around 1.9 million tonnes of crude steel. It will be capable of smelting sponge iron and steel scrap along with various additives in less than 50 minutes, Kallanish hears from the steelmaker. The crude steel will then be refined using the existing plant, cast in slabs, rolled and processed. Plant assembly will commence at the end of 2024, production is slated to start at the end of 2025.

The scope of the order also extends to the necessary ancillary modules. These include dust extraction units including heat recovery, water management, electrical compensation to stabilise the network, and material handling equipment for alloying agents and additives. The waste heat generated by the process will largely be converted into steam and fed into the “steelworks network” to be reused in other parts of the works.

The goal of SALCOS is, in three stages between now and 2033, to convert the integrated steelworks entirely to low-CO2 crude steel production. Two direct reduction plants and three electric arc furnaces will be built to successively replace the blast furnaces and converters.

Christian Koehl Germany