The city of Salzgitter's heat supply is to become climate-neutral

Group photo of Gunnar Groebler, Chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG, Johannes Eickmann, Technical Managing Director of WEVG, Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, Christian Heinrich, Authorized Signatory Salzgitter AG, Marten Bunnemann, Chairman of the Executive Board of Avacon AG and Rainer Krause, Commercial Managing Director of WEVG

Gunnar Groebler, Chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG, Johannes Eickmann, Technical Managing Director of WEVG, Lord Mayor Frank Klingebiel, Christian Heinrich, Authorized Signatory Salzgitter AG, Marten Bunnemann, Chairman of the Executive Board of Avacon AG and Rainer Krause, Commercial Managing Director of WEVG

"We want to lead the heat supply of the city of Salzgitter into a climate-neutral future!" Salzgitter's Lord Mayor and Chairman of the WEVG Supervisory Board, Frank Klingebiel, Marten Bunnemann, CEO of Avacon AG and Gunnar Groebler, CEO of Salzgitter AG, have big plans: Together with the local energy supplier WEVG, they want to transform Salzgitter's heating supply and lead the city into a climate-neutral future.

The energy supplier WEVG wants to start its mission in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, the most populous district. This is because there is already a well-dimensioned district heating route connecting the integrated Salzgitter AG steelworks and the district. The district heating comes from the Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH power plant. This plant mainly utilizes the by-product gases from steel production (blast furnace, steel mill and coke oven gas). This energy, which is already very climate-friendly today, will increasingly be replaced by industrial waste heat from the new production facilities as the transformation of Salzgitter AG's steelworks progresses. As part of the SALCOS® - Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking program, the Group is converting the Salzgitter steel site into a green steel production facility by 2033. This will also ensure the supply of climate-neutral district heating and enable further expansion.

"In Salzgitter-Lebenstedt, the changeover will quickly have a major impact," Lord Mayor and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Frank Klingebiel is convinced. "Together with our WEVG, we are planning to significantly expand the district heating network in Salzgitter-Lebenstedt from next year and connect many more buildings that currently heat with natural gas and other non-CO2-neutral fuels to climate-friendly district heating. Salzgitter will thus take on a pioneering role in Germany in the use of industrial waste heat," says Klingebiel.

Gunnar Groebler also sees the switch to district heating in the north of Salzgitter as forward-looking: "The city of Salzgitter has a clear locational advantage due to the nearby availability of "green" district heating from the Salzgitter Group - we want to make use of this. With our SALCOS® program, we can not only produce our steel in an almost climate-neutral way, but also help Salzgitter move towards a CO2-neutral heating future. In this way, global challenges are solved in an exemplary manner at a local level."

Marten Bunnemann emphasizes the supra-regional significance of the joint project:
"With this project, Salzgitter is becoming a pioneer in the municipal heat transition. We are making optimum use of the potential of industrial waste heat in terms of energy efficiency and are leading the city of Salzgitter's heat supply into a climate-neutral future. It shows that the energy transition succeeds when industry, politics and business pull together."

"Thanks to the joint commitment to the use of climate-neutral district heating, we can now take further steps as part of our project," says Johannes Eickmann, Technical Managing Director of WEVG.

Rainer Krause, Commercial Managing Director of WEVG, adds: "We are receiving an increasing number of inquiries from potential heating customers, not least due to the changes in the political framework. We will be able to offer them a good future-proof and sustainable alternative with district heating from the Salzgitter Group."