Swiss Steel Group Drives Green Transformation Through Initiative to Supply Its Own Electricity from Renewable Energies

Summary

Swiss Steel Group is pleased to announce its participation in a renewable energy consortium, the "Initiative EE-Industrie." This initiative, consisting of 19 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany, aims to build, operate and utilize wind and photovoltaic plants for self-supply with green electricity.
 
Based on initial forecasts, the consortium will require a total output of 220 MW of wind power and 80 MW of photovoltaics. These impressive figures correspond to around 35-40 modern wind turbines and a ground-mounted PV system of 960,000 square meters. The importance of a stable and competitive electricity price from sustainable sources for the steel industry cannot be overemphasized. Especially on the electric arc furnace route, where we as Swiss Steel Group operate as a leader, the availability of affordable green electricity is of crucial importance for our further decarbonization efforts.

Frank Koch, CEO of Swiss Steel Group, emphasizes the importance of this step: "As a manufacturer on the electric arc furnace route, we are aware of the urgency to diversify our energy sources in order to further reduce our carbon footprint. The initiative firmly believes that a collaborative approach offers the most promising opportunity to secure much-needed quantities of lowCO2 energy, leverage bundling effects and optimize the cost of green power generation."
 
As a first step, the companies involved have commissioned the development of a practicable and legally compliant concept and to determine the economic framework conditions. At the same time, the participants in this pioneering initiative are urging politicians to support competitive green electricity.

Koch also commented,  "We are electrified by the opportunity to become not only consumers but also producers of green energy. The transformation to CO2-neutral processes is crucial for the steel industry and stable energy prices play a central role in this. As a company that is one of the leading European green steel producers, we see it as our responsibility to continue to actively contribute to decarbonization and expand our role as a trendsetter. But to do this, we need a competitive overall price for green electricity. We hope that our joint efforts with the 'Initiative EE-Industrie' will not only drive forward our own green transformation, but also set an example and inspire other companies to also embark on this path."
 
As this year's winner of the German Sustainability Award, Swiss Steel Group is determined to further expand its role as a pioneer in sustainable steel production and to make an additional contribution to achieving climate targets through innovative solutions and partnerships.