Salzgitter relies on green technology: New walking beam furnace for efficiency!

Salzgitter relies on green technology: New walking beam furnace for efficiency!

Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, the largest subsidiary of Salzgitter AG, has awarded a major contract to Tenova. This includes the delivery of a state-of-the-art walking beam furnace for heating slabs at the Salzgitter site.
Marketsteel reports that this furnace not only has the production capacity of 320 tons per hour, but also makes a significant contribution to supporting Salzgitter's decarbonization goals.

Tenova Italimpianti is responsible for the construction of the oven. Not only will you take care of the design and delivery, but you will also oversee the assembly. The project also strengthens Tenova's market position in Germany, which is definitely positive for the industry. The scope of delivery also includes essential components such as an outfeed roller table and both infeed and outfeed machines.

Focus on environmentally friendly technologies

A particularly interesting aspect of the new oven is the integrated preheating system for the combustion air, which enables significant energy savings. The furnace will also be equipped with hydrogen burners to promote the transition to green energy sources. This change is clearly aimed at significantly minimizing the carbon footprint and increasing overall energy efficiency. According to Thomas Rouschek, operations director, energy consumption is reduced by up to 30 percent.

These developments are not isolated, as the Salzgitter Group has also agreed on an expanded partnership with Volvo Cars for the recycling of steel scrap. From 2026, Salzgitter will purchase significant quantities of steel scrap from Volvo. This shows the trend towards circular economy in the steel industry. In addition, a new hot strip slitting system will be installed at the Salzgitter site, which will enable flexible splitting of hot strip. Salzgitter flat steel places great focus on the transformation to green steel production.

Innovations on the way to green steel

Another innovative approach in the industry is the EASyMelt process, which was developed by SMS group. This process combines various technologies and offers an environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional blast furnace process. Not only does it enable a significant reduction in emissions of over 60%, but it is also less capital intensive when retrofitting existing facilities. SMS group emphasizes that the introduction of the EASyMelt process can be carried out gradually and is characterized by a high degree of flexibility.

The combination of these developments clearly shows that the steel industry in Germany is on a promising path towards greater sustainability and efficiency. Both the orders placed with Tenova and the partnerships with automobile manufacturers are clear indicators that “a good hand” is being shown here for the future.