Austrian steel company Voestalpine's Supervisory Board has approved a €1.5 billion ($1.62 billion) investment in low-CO2 steel production as part of its goal of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050.
By 2027, two electric arc furnaces are to be built at the Voestalpine plants in Linz and Donawitz, and one blast furnace is expected to be replaced at each of these plants by 2030.
Voestalpine has already received orders for 100,000 tonnes of new steel, chief executive officer Herbert Eibensteiner said in a phone call following the announcement.
He added that while the company expects to get funding for electric arc furnaces, it still assumes it will have to take on most of the costs.
According to the company, the new furnaces will allow Voestalpine to produce around 2.5 million tons of low-CO2 steel per year, which will reduce CO2 emissions by 30%, and overall emissions in Austria — by 5%.
Steel production accounts for between 7% and 9% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, so efforts to reduce them are one of the key challenges in the fight against climate change.
