Volkswagen to source hydrogen-based steel from Salzgitter

Volkswagen Group and Salzgitter AG signed an MoU under which Volkswagen will become one of the first customers for the low-CO2 steel that Salzgitter AG plans to produce on a new production route in Lower Saxony from the end of 2025.

According to Salzgitter AG, this will enable over 95% of CO2 emissions in steel production to be saved in future based on hydrogen and renewable energies. The Volkswagen Group plans to use the low-CO2 steel from the end of 2025 in important future projects such as the Trinity e-model, which will be produced in Wolfsburg from 2026.

For Volkswagen, reducing CO2 emissions in the supply chain is a key element in the Group’s strategy to become a carbon-neutral mobility provider by 2050 gradually.

In future projects such as Trinity – the fully connected electric car of the next generation, which will be manufactured in Wolfsburg from 2026 – the use of CO2-reduced steel can significantly contribute to improving the overall CO2 balance sheet.

By the end of 2022, both partners will contractually agree on purchase quantities for the low-CO2 steel from 2025 to 2030.

Salzgitter AG has massively reduced CO2 emissions in steel production with the transformation program SALCOS® – Salzgitter Low CO2-Steelmaking. In contrast to pig iron production using carbon-based blast furnaces, the steel and technology group wants to produce steel in future using green hydrogen and renewable energies on a new production route.

Last year, Volkswagen AG processed sample quantities of CO2-reduced steel from the Salzgitter AG for the first time. This is produced on the scrap-based electric steel route in Peine and has a 66% reduced CO2 footprint. This year, Volkswagen plans to purchase a further 3,000 tonnes.

Another aspect of the joint agreement is the goal of establishing a closed-loop recycling system for steel between Volkswagen’s main plant in Wolfsburg and the integrated steelworks in Salzgitter.