In the wake of the CDU’s chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz questioning the shift to green steel, the head of the Salzgitter steel company, Gunnar Groebler, has warned of massive problems for the steel industry if the next German government were to reverse the course of the transition to hydrogen in the sector. “It is important that there are clear circumstances and a stable government in Berlin after February 23, 2025” Groebler told the business magazine “Capital” on Tuesday.
“Just now, during the time of structural change, when many companies are investing billions in their transformation, they need to be able to rely on the required stability and security from the government” he said. “We need long-term and consistent solutions, and that goes beyond party boundaries and legislative periods.”
Salzgitter is investing more than two billion euros in the transition to a more environmentally friendly steel production using hydrogen, with the state contributing almost a billion euros. The production of green steel is expected to start in 2026, according to current plans.
CDU leader Merz is skeptical about the plans for a rapid transformation of the steel industry to a climate-friendly hydrogen economy. “I don’t think a quick switch to hydrogen will be successful” Merz said, according to “Capital” on Monday at a CDA conference in Bochum. “Where is the hydrogen supposed to come from?”
Salzgitter’s CEO Groebler reaffirmed that the promised subsidies must be maintained. “Legal and planning security are indispensable.” A first transformation agreement had been signed with the federal government. “We will deliver on what we have contractually committed to and rely on the government also keeping its part of the bargain. A reversal of the political transformation path would put us and other companies that are already investing in their transformation in great difficulties, with the risk of ‘stranded assets’.