“Danieli is proud to be beside Salzgitter Flachstahl in this outstanding project that will be a lighthouse for the steel industry decarbonization”, said Giacomo Mareschi Danieli, the CEO of Danieli Group during the contract signing ceremony. The collaboration with Salzgitter Flachstahl represents a significant milestone in the steel industry’s journey toward a greener and more sustainable future.

Salzgitter Flachstahl, a renowned steel producer based in Lower Saxony, Germany, chose the innovative Energiron DR technology for its new direct reduction plant, to be installed at its historical facility. This hydrogen-ready plant represents a crucial step in the German group’s transition from conventional ironmaking to electric steelmaking, aiming to achieve an impressive 95% reduction in carbon emissions. The 2.1 million tons per year Energiron DR plant will produce high-quality DRI, enabling the sustainable production of hot-strip coils through an advanced electric steel meltshop. The order also includes the patented Hytemp® system for hot-DRI pneumatic transport, allowing for hot charging into the EAF at temperatures up to 600 °C. This innovative system not only generates energy savings but also equips the plant to produce cold DRI when necessary.

“We are underpinning our motto ‘A new way of thinking for a new industry’ today with a clear signal to the market”, said Gunnar Groebler, Chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG. “As early as 2026, we will be in a position to produce significant quantities of Green Steel and make it available to our customers. I am pleased and also a little proud that we, as a pioneer with fully up-front financing for the first stage of our transformation program, have today awarded this contract to our strong partners”.

Energiron technology, a remarkable achievement jointly developed by Tenova and the company led by Giacomo Mareschi Danieli, offers a hybrid design that enables the utilization of natural gas (NG) as a reducing agent. It also provides the flexibility to incorporate varying amounts of hydrogen, up to 100%, as an alternative reducing agent. Additionally, the technology boasts the capability to capture and utilize CO2, further reducing the overall carbon emissions of the plant and creating an additional revenue stream for its operations.

The startup of the new Energiron DRI plant, slated for July 2026, will mark a significant milestone in Europe’s pursuit of “hard-to-abate industry decarbonization”. Furthermore, Salzgitter Flachstahl plans to install a second Energiron Direct Reduction Plant (DRP) in the subsequent phase.

“The use of the Energiron technology, jointly developed by Danieli and Tenova, is a definitive step towards a Green Steel era, with the possibility to use different amounts of hydrogen, up to 100%, as an alternative reducing agent in order to lower more and more the carbon footprint, without changing the standard and mature plant configuration”, concluded Giacomo Mareschi Danieli by emphasising that “we are fully committed as a technological partner of Salzgitter to make this a great success”.