German finance minister calls for steel summit after green projects axed
dpa / Welt
Following the cancellation of major investments to clean up steel production in Germany, the country’s finance minister proposed a “steel summit” with companies, unions and state governments to save jobs in the sector. “I have approached the economy minister with a request to bring all the players to the table,’ Lars Klingbeil, a Social Democrat (SPD) who is also vice chancellor, told newswire dpa.
The world’s second largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, last week dropped plans to convert two plants in Germany to climate-friendly production, citing high energy costs and turning down 1.3 billion euros of subsidies. The cancellation dealt a blow to Germany’s ambitions to decarbonise steelmaking and to its strategy to use green hydrogen on a large scale to clean up industry in general.
“The focus now must be on identifying prospects for ‘green steel’ in Germany,” Klingbeil said. “We want Germany to have a strong industry. This includes ‘green steel’ for future viability.” He called for reviewing how long subsidy programmes run and how they are designed.
“We are fighting for every industry job in Germany,” Klingbeil told a party conference. “Let’s find solutions.” Labour unions warned last week that the cancellation of the projects put the future of the affected steelworks at risk. Klingbeil’s Social Democrats (SPD) traditionally have strong links to unions, and are the junior partner in Germany’s new government led by chancellor Friedrich Merz from the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). Economy minister Katherina Reiche is also a CDU member.
Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said it would drop its plans for converting two plants in the country, in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt, to carbon-neutral production, arguing that energy costs in Germany were too high to allow for profitable operations. “Meanwhile, the European steel market is under unprecedented pressure due to weak demand and high imports,” the company said. Three similar projects by manufacturers Salzgitter, Thyssenkrupp and SHS (Stahl-Holding-Saar) have already received funding approvals, and their projects are being implemented.
