Thyssenkrupp launches new continuous casting line
Germany’s Thyssenkrupp said it has started trial production of steel slabs at its new continuous casting line No. 4 at its Bruckhausen plant in Duisburg.
Further trial production runs will take place in the coming weeks, the steelmaker said.
The modernization also includes a new fully automated slab storage yard and completely modernized hot strip mill 4 with a new preliminary line and two new walking beam furnaces.
“The aim is to further expand production of high-quality steel grades with the highest standards of strength, dimensional accuracy, and surface quality – particularly for applications in electric mobility, lightweight construction, and the energy sector,” Thyssenkrupp said.
The Bruckhausen upgrade is one of the largest modernization projects in Thyssenkrupp’s history and the central investment package in its 20-30 Strategy. The aim of the project is to make the Duisburg production site more efficient and flexible, and focus on products with higher added value.
Maria Tanatar
Thyssenkrupp starts trial production at new continuous slab caster
Germany-based steelmaker thyssenkrupp has announced that it has reached a significant milestone at its Bruckhausen site in Duisburg, with the successful start of trial operation and casting of the first slabs on the new continuous casting line 4 (SGA 4), marking the largest single investment project in recent decades.
“The new SGA 4 will form part of one of the most modern production networks in the European steel industry. It is a central building block in our strategy to ensure there is a bright future for efficient and sustainable steel production at the Duisburg location. Equipped with high-tech automation and casting technology, the line enables high-precision, flexible and efficient slab production with significantly improved shape accuracy and surface quality. Advantages that will help our customers in their competitive environment,” said Dennis Grimm, thyssenkrupp Steel’s CEO.
The company pointed out that successful production of the first slabs is an important step on the way to taking the new plant complex fully into operation, which will be taking place step by step over the next few weeks. These include the new fully automated slab storage yard and the completely modernized hot strip mill 4 with a new preliminary line and two new walking beam furnaces.
According to thyssenkrupp, the SGA 4 replaces the previous casting rolling line and, together with the new hot strip mill 4, forms an integrated plant network. The aim is to further expand production of high-quality steel grades with the highest standards of strength, dimensional accuracy, and surface quality – particularly for applications in electric mobility, lightweight construction.
Thyssenkrupp to install line for medium-wide strip
Thyssenkrupp Steel is planning to convert a continuous casting line at its Duisburg-Nord site amid changes to its offtake supplies for medium-wide strip steel.
A divider is to be installed, which will make it possible to cast the required narrow slabs, it explains. The necessary investment funds in the high double-digit million range have already been approved.
The steelmaker recently announced it will terminate the offtake of supplies from HKM after 2032.
The steelmaker has sourced narrow slabs produced by Duisburg mill HKM (Hüttenwerke Krupp-Mannesmann) to roll them at its Hohenlimburg site to medium-wide strip of 600mm width, used by automotive and other industrial customers.
According to a seasoned industry observer, medium-wide strip in the past used to be produced by various EU steelmakers. This has been widely replaced by normal-width strip, which is then slit into narrower strip.
“Making medium-wide strip with dedicated technology takes more effort, but it has advantages,” he tells Kallanish. For example, higher pressure can be exerted to roll harder steels with a higher carbon content, he says.
A spokeswoman at tk Steel concurs and notes that the final products are often small in terms of tonnage, but with tight tolerances when it comes to small precision parts, like blades, or certain parts used in cars.
Thyssenkrupp Steel is the only European steelmaker left to produce medium-wide strip on bespoke facilities, she says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Thyssenkrupp may sell distribution arm, sources say
Earlier this week, international media reported Thyssenkrupp’s intention to sell its distribution arm, Thyssenkrupp Material Services, as a part of a major restructuring effort intended to increase efficiency by divesting less profitable parts of the company.
“Our goal is to transform Thyssenkrupp into a high-performance and sustainable company with a portfolio of sectors geared to profitable growth,” the company’s spokesperson told Fastmarkets on April 11. “We want every single Thyssenkrupp business to develop in the best possible way and to achieve a sustainable competitive position.
“The declared aim is to generate a permanently positive value and cash flow contribution for the group, and a reliable dividend payment to our shareholders,” the spokesperson added.
“We will continue to pursue our strategy, with a focus on the separation of the Steel and Marine divisions. The primary aim for all sectors is to increase growth and performance. This may include growth through partnerships and portfolio activities, provided this makes sense strategically and technologically,” the spokesperson said.
In August 2024, the company sold a 20% share in its steel business to a Czech private energy company, and was discussing the sale of a further 30% stake.
Thyssenkrupp Materials Services is the group’s trading arm, offering a wide range of processing and logistics services, and employing around 16,000 people. In the fiscal year 2023/24, Thyssenkrupp Materials Services’ adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was €204 million ($231 million). The division’s sales for the same period were €12.1 billion.
By 2030, Thyssenkrupp, which is the largest steelmaker in Germany, intends to cut steel output by 2.5 million tonnes per year, with 11,000 jobs likely to be eliminated by the fundamental changes taking place across the European steel market.
Thyssenkrupp is currently building a 2.5 million tpy DRI module in Duisburg that was expected to have capacity for around 5 million tpy of low-CO2 steel by 2030.
In March 2025, Thyssenkrupp put on hold a hydrogen tender for its green steel plant due to elevated prices, but said that it was still committed to the Duisburg site’s green transformation.
Crisis in European steel market
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), the nominal crude steelmaking capacity in Europe is well over 200 million tonnes per year, but actual output volumes have been lagging far behind that in recent years.
In 2022, crude steel production across Europe amounted to 136.30 million tonnes, down from 152.60 million tonnes in 2021, according to data from the World Steel Association (worldsteel). The decline was due to massive output cuts that were implemented by European mills in the third and fourth quarters of 2022, due to deteriorating demand and falling steel prices.
In 2024, steel output rebounded slightly to 129.5 million tonnes compared with 126.3 million tonnes in 2023, according to worldsteel. But the total volume was still below the 159.4 million tonnes recorded pre-Covid in 2019.
Steel production in Germany amounted to 37.23 million tonnes in 2024, up by 5.2% from 35.4 million tonnes in 2023.
But despite that slight rebound, steel production in Germany remained lower, and has been below 40 million tonnes for three years in a row, German steel federation WV Stahl said.
Earlier this week, Dutch steelmaker Tata Steel Nederlands (TSN) added to the problems in the European steel sector when it announced plans to undergo a large-scale transformation that will lead to the loss of about 1,600 jobs at its IJmuiden facility.
In March this year, the European Commission presented a Steel and Metals Action Plan to support the struggling industry, but it remained to be seen how the plan will be implemented and what results it will bring.
So far, the European Commission has focuses on tightening trade policies to protect the local market from unfair imports.
On April 1, the Commission introduced new, tighter, steel safeguard measures to support the domestic steel sector.
And from April 7, the EU has imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled coil from Egypt, Vietnam and Japan.
Europe’s steel sector was still at the heart of several regional economies, with approximately 500 production sites across 22 EU member states, the Commission said. According to EU data, the European steel sector contributes around €80 billion to the bloc’s gross domestic product and supports more than 2.5 million jobs.
Germany plans to decarbonize one-third of domestic steel capacity by 2030
During Germany’s National Steel Summit held in Duisburg, politicians and industrial associations have spoken in favor of the preservation and green transition of the domestic steel industry and have listed the needs of the sector, according to media reports.
Robert Habeck, German federal minister for economic affairs and climate action, stated that Germany and the EU are spearheading the decarbonization of the steel industry. “In Germany, we will convert around one-third of German crude steel capacity by 2030 and, in doing so, produce around 12 million mt of carbon-free steel,” Mr. Habeck added.
As stated in local German media reports on the summit, steel production is the foundation of many sectors such as automotive and mechanical engineering and their transformation, though it is very energy-intensive and accounts for seven percent of Germany’s total greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies and the use of renewable or green energies such as hydrogen are needed.
The German government has been allocating billions of euros for large-scale renewable energy plants, but the domestic steel industry is facing the risk of a weak economy and high energy prices, and cheap imports mainly from Asia. Therefore, IG Metall, one of the largest metalworkers’ unions in Germany, has urged politicians to create a reliable investment environment and to ensure competitive prices for electricity.
Gunnar Groebler, president of the German Steel Federation, stated that Germany needs to establish green markets, to keep energy prices in check and to create effective protection against unfair competition in order to support the industry, which is under pressure.
Additionally, other unions pointed out that a competitive domestic steel industry is essential for industrial value chains, prosperity, employment and a green transformation in Germany and Europe.
