Uniper and Salzgitter AG concluded a cooperation agreement with the aim of Uniper supplying the SALCOS project in Salzgitter with green hydrogen at competitive conditions for the production of climate-compatible steel.

The cooperation is focused on supplying hydrogen from Wilhelmshaven where Uniper is developing two projects in parallel for green hydrogen. Firstly an import terminal capable of converting green ammonia back into hydrogen is planned. Second, Uniper envisages building a large electrolysis plant that, with a capacity of up to 1,000 MW, will produce green hydrogen.

With this in mind, the possibility of a direct connection to the offshore wind farm, to be built in the North Sea, will be investigated. The electrolysis plant and the entire downstream hydrogen infrastructure function similar to a shock absorber that, if strong winds blow, can store the wind energy expediently as hydrogen and make it transportable.

With the aim of supplying Salzgitter through the evolving German hydrogen pipeline network and for the development of cavern storage facilities, Uniper and Salzgitter AG will be cooperating with additional prestigious partners. Together, the two companies will drive the ambitious vision of decarbonizing Germany’s industry in support of the climate targets by contributing to this objective with specific projects.

"We are aligning Salzgitter AG to low CO2 production processes and the circular economy. The secure and economically viable sourcing of green hydrogen is a fundamental prerequisite on our journey toward SALCOS – Salzgitter Low CO2-Steelmaking," said Gunnar Groebler, Salzgitter AG. "The cooperation with Uniper is another step on the way to leading this game-changing technical transformation to success, together with strong partners."

"We need ‘green electrons’ and ‘green molecules’, if we want to achieve the proclaimed climate protection objectives, while preserving our industry in Germany. The Wilhelmshaven site offers all the necessary preconditions for creating Germany’s first major hydrogen hub," said Klaus-Dieter Maubach, CEO of Uniper SE. "Large-scale hydrogen production facilities are to be built here for the purpose of decarbonizing steel production in Lower Saxony. We also want to develop a solution that will enable the faster integration of the new gigawatt offshore wind farm into the German power grid."