Voestalpine is switching from coke to electricity in steel production. An important step has been taken in this direction: the first electric arc furnace has now been approved through an environmental impact assessment. It is expected to replace the classic blast furnace by 2027 and reduce enormous CO₂ emissions.
For Voestalpine boss Herbert Eibensteiner, it is “Austria’s largest climate protection program”: by 2027, the steel company wants to replace a coke blast furnace in Linz and Donawitz (Styria) with an electric arc furnace. This essentially makes steel production green. By 2029, approximately 30 percent of CO₂ emissions must be saved.
The EIA process took only five months
An important step in this direction has now been taken: the state of Upper Austria has completed the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and approved the construction of the “clean” electric arc furnace at the Linz site – within just five months, as responsible State Councilor Stefan Kaineder (Greens) told the “Crown” emphasized.
“Extremely complex approval process”
The first important EIA project to enable more environmentally friendly steel production – the 220 kV supply ring to bring the necessary electricity to the Voest location – was completed last year. This took 16 months: “These are both extremely complex approval procedures that involve numerous experts and must be handled in a legally certain manner and with the highest quality,” says Kaineder, praising the employees responsible for the EIA procedures. a swipe at State Energy Councilor Markus Achleitner (ÖVP).
He had repeatedly criticized the lengthy EIA process. “In the past five years, there have been seventeen procedures in Upper Austria. On average they lasted 19.3 months. This means that Upper Austria is performing better than the national average of 22.6 months,” Kaineder’s office here said.
Further replacement of the blast furnace until 2035
For Voestalpine, the switch from coking to electric arc ovens is only the first phase in the ‘greentec steel’ step-by-step plan. From 2027, 1.6 million tons of CO₂-reduced steel will be produced in Linz and 850,000 tons in Donawitz. . From 2030 to 2035, the further replacement of one blast furnace each in Linz and Donawitz is planned. In total, Voest wants to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50 percent.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
