“Anyone who doesn’t believe in green steel is promoting the end of the steel industry in Germany – with fatal effects far beyond the industry. We would lose tens of thousands of jobs and become dangerously dependent, especially on China, for one of the most important raw materials. I invite the CDU chairman to explain to him the importance of green steel for industry and local jobs in a steelworks.
Industry must produce in a climate-friendly manner in the future. This decision was made in Europe years ago and companies all over the country are working on implementing it. At the heart of this industrial transformation is green steel. Without green steel there will be no energy transition and no real mobility transition. Tens of thousands of jobs depend on the question of whether it will be possible to produce green steel in Germany. That’s why the green restructuring of the steel industry is rightly being supported with millions in public funding – including from the CDU-led state government in North Rhine-Westphalia. Against this background, the statement by the Union Chancellor candidate is very irritating. We expect reliability from the Federal Government and the European Commission. Planning security is essential for companies.
On the problem of the availability of affordable hydrogen: We expect flexibility from German and European politics. We can achieve 80 percent CO² savings if the new systems are initially operated with gas in the first step. Green hydrogen can then be used as soon as it is affordable.
IG Metall and the employees in the steelworks have campaigned massively – and successfully – to ensure that this country invests in the future technology of green steel production. We will continue to do so in the future. It is urgently necessary for Friedrich Merz to rethink his position.”