Thyssenkrupp to invest €2bn in hydrogen DRI plant

German steelmaker plans one of world’s largest hydrogen-powered direct-reduced iron facilities at its Duisburg complex

Germany’s Thyssenkrupp plans to spend more than €2bn ($2bn) on the construction of one of the world’s largest hydrogen-powered direct-reduced iron (DRI) plants at its Duisburg steelmaking complex in the Ruhr region. The company expects to start awarding contracts for the project in the next few months, with the facility scheduled to start up in 2026. It will have a production capacity of 2.5mn t/yr—larger than initially planned. The investment is still subject to the securing of some public funding, Thyssenkrupp says. The new DRI plant would replace some of the Duisburg site’s coking coal-fired blast furnace capacity. Thyssenkrupp’s steel operations account for about 2.5pc of Germany’s CO₂ e