The purpose of the PPA is to be able to operate the inductive single-bar tempering plant (EVA) at Georgsmarienhütte site with 100% renewable energy throughout. The supply of electricity and the Guarantees of Origin are carried out in compliance with the rules on the optional coupling of electricity generation and supply.
The green electricity will be sourced from two plants in Germany, including a wind farm that no longer receives subsidies under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and a newly constructed solar farm.
For GMH Gruppe, the PPA is another important milestone in its transformation towards climate-neutral steel production. By using the EVA, and the associated switch from natural gas to (green) electricity in the heat treatment of steel, more than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 can be saved over the next ten years. GMH Gruppe has set itself the goal of reducing CO2 emissions to almost zero by 2039. By 2030, its greenhouse gases are to be halved compared to 2019.
“With ENGIE’s cooperation on the coupled supply of electricity, we have now taken the important final step towards being able to operate our single heat treatment system in a holistically sustainable manner. Steel processing on the electrically powered EVA is not only more efficient and powerful than the previous heat treatment, but also runs on 100% green electricity,” explains Matthias Funke, Director Commodity Management at GMH Gruppe.
Marc Oliver Arnold, Plant Director at Georgsmarienhütte, comments: “We are delighted that, in addition to the fully electric melting of steel, we are now able to make a second major production area at Georgsmarienhütte climate-friendly with the transformation of steel tempering. This represents another important step towards achieving our climate targets.”
“Our goal is to make renewable energy available to companies. We are delighted to be able to support GMH Gruppe in its decarbonisation efforts. By combining a decarbonised wind farm with a new solar farm, the PPA also helps to ensure that both urgently needed wind turbines remain on the grid and new plants are built,” says Philip Meissner, Senior Originator at ENGIE Energy Management Solutions.
