By FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Thyssenkrupp (ETR:TKAG) is reviewing plans for production of green steel, the German conglomerate said late on Sunday, responding to a report that it was considering halting a 3-billion-euro ($3.3 billion) decarbonisation project.
The crisis-ridden company is currently reviewing the business plan for its steel division, TKSE, including plans for its “green transformation”, which refers to the carbon-neutral production of steel, one of the most polluting industrial processes.
“In doing so, we are continuously examining the best and most economically viable solutions under the given conditions in terms of technology and results in order to make Thyssenkrupp’s steel business climate-neutral in the long term,” the group said.
Thyssenkrupp was considering scenarios including a stop of the hydrogen-based direct reduction project, newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Sunday, citing internal documents.
The company’s steel division, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE), in which Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky owns a 20% stake, last month warned that the planned direct reduction site in Duisburg could cost more than initially expected.
Thyssenkrupp confirmed earlier statements saying that project was being reviewed with regard to the new cost estimates, adding that it currently assumed the site would be built.
TKSE is currently at loggerheads with its parent Thyssenkrupp over how much money the steel business needs to survive on its own, a dispute that caused the division’s leadership to resign at the end of August.
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