Blast furnace to be replaced

Will this construction site save Austria’s CO2 balance?

Here, the new electric arc furnace is being built at the Donawitz steelworks.(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Despite the economic crisis, Voestalpine is pressing ahead with its multi-billion-euro green steel project. Construction work in Leoben-Donawitz will reach a milestone next week—and in a few years, the first blast furnace is set to be shut down. This will dramatically reduce CO2 emissions.

Where industrial history will be made in three years, the scene today resembles a bustling construction site. Six cranes, excavators, heavy trucks, building materials everywhere, and many workers. At the eastern end of the Donawitz steelworks site, Voestalpine is constructing an electric arc furnace scheduled to begin operations in the spring of 2027. It no longer requires coal or coke to produce steel, but rather large amounts of scrap—and, above all, green electricity.