The project is one example among many illustrating thyssenkrupp's role in recent years - that of a technology-driven group contributing to the sustainable transformation of the economy with innovative products. And this also applies to steel: Steel Europe aims to achieve climate-neutral production by 2045 at the latest. One step in this direction is the development of CO2-reduced steels, which thyssenkrupp has been marketing for two years under the brand name bluemint® Steel. bluemint® Steel helps customers manufacture more climate-friendly products and compete on the markets of the future.

Steel is systematically continuing along this sustainable path: In March this year thyssenkrupp placed an order for the construction of a 100 percent hydrogen-capable direct reduction plant for steel production. This will create one of the world's biggest decarbonization projects at the Duisburg site, replacing the coal-based blast furnace with a hydrogen-fueled direct reduction plant. In specially developed melting units, liquid pig iron will be produced from the reduced iron. The technology used will allow the subsequent production steps to be carried out in the existing plant structure of the steel mills. At the same time, it will make it possible to continue producing the roughly 2,500 different steel grades currently produced by Steel without any loss of quality.

The plan is for the plant with a capacity of 2.5 million metric tons of direct-reduced iron to go into operation in 2026. Annual CO2 savings are expected to be more than 3.5 million tons. By 2030 thyssenkrupp Steel aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 6 million tons. This amounts to a reduction of more than 30 percent of current greenhouse gas emissions. By 2045 at the latest, production is to be completely climate-neutral.

Hydrogen plays a role not only in sustainable steel production of the future, but also in the production of green ammonia. The basic chemical substance made from hydrogen and nitrogen is still mainly produced from natural gas and used as a fertilizer or refrigerant. At thyssenkrupp Uhde they use a technology that directly utilizes green hydrogen for ammonia production. The largest ammonia production complex in the world is located in Donaldsonville in the USA, with six ammonia plants and several fertilizer plants. The largest ammonia plant at this CF Industries site was supplied by thyssenkrupp Uhde and is based on the proven uhde® ammonia process. thyssenkrupp nucera is currently building a 20 MW water electrolysis plant there on behalf of the US company, which will be used to produce part of the ammonia produced in the future "green", i.e. CO2-free - around 20,000 tons per year.

However, the technology not only enables the sustainable production of ammonia, but also turns the basic material into a driver of the energy transition. Because the green hydrogen can be separated from the nitrogen again by simple chemical processes, ammonia is ideally suited as a vehicle and storage medium for green hydrogen. Compared to hydrogen, ammonia is easier to store and transport over long distances.

Products from thyssenkrupp are also driving the energy transition in other places. Even where you might not expect it: in the use of wind energy. For example, thyssenkrupp rothe erde produces highly specialized slewing bearings for onshore and offshore wind turbines that generate green electricity. In Germany, around a quarter of the electrical energy consumed in the first quarter of 2023 already came from wind power. In Europe, but also worldwide, the production of sustainable wind energy is on the rise. Good for the climate and thanks to its sought-after slewing bearings also good for thyssenkrupp.

The examples show: thyssenkrupp is working in many fields to make the world a little greener and more sustainable - and also itself. Sustainability is a pillar of the corporate strategy and firmly anchored in the structures of thyssenkrupp and its segments. The overriding aim of the sustainability strategy is to develop and bring to market innovative products, technologies and services that contribute to the sustainable success of customers.

Internally the Sustainability Committee steers thyssenkrupp's progress in the area of sustainability. The committee, which includes the Group's Executive Board, the CEOs of the segments, the heads of the Corporate Centers and experts, sets sustainability targets and monitors their achievement. For example, energy efficiency gains of at least 85 GWh are to be achieved in fiscal 2022/2023.

The sustainability strategy covers not only environmental aspects, but also aspects relating to social concerns and issues of good corporate governance (ESG). These include workplace safety, diversity and equal treatment, and fairness in supply chains. An external view confirms that thyssenkrupp is on the right track in sustainability matters: Leading rating agencies such as MSCI ESG Research and Sustainalytics rank thyssenkrupp among the top 13 and 12 percent respectively of comparable companies worldwide. In addition, thyssenkrupp made the "Climate Protection A List" for the seventh time in succession in 2022 and is therefore in the best category of the CDP climate rating, something only 15 companies from Germany have achieved.