Voest Donawitz plant

There is no “green steel” without this building

The construction site directly on a slope(Bild: APG)

A new substation will be built on the site of the Voestalpine steelworks in Leoben-Donawitz by 2026. This is the only way to replace the first classic blast furnace - as in Linz. The Styrians are one step ahead of the Upper Austrians.

As a rule, the construction of a transformer station hardly attracts any national attention - but this project is different. Not only because the building is being erected in terraces on a slope. But above all because it is crucial for supplying the Voestalpine steelworks in the Donawitz district of Leoben with electricity from renewable sources.

An electric arc furnace for the production of "green steel" will be built in the Montanstadt (as well as in Linz) by 2027. They will each replace a conventional blast furnace fired with coal and coke. This alone will save five percent of Austria's CO₂ emissions.

The total project is estimated at 1.5 billion euros, with Leoben accounting for one third. So far, 273 million euros have already been invested. "We are on schedule and on budget," they say.

However, the construction of the necessary power supply in Linz has been delayed due to objections - in Leoben, on the other hand, construction is already underway. In addition to the new substation in Leoben, the overall APG (Austrian Power Grid) project also includes the adaptation of the existing Hessenberg substation (municipality of St. Peter-Freienstein) and an optimized 220 kV line connection. Completion: by mid-2026 at the latest.