Saarstahl Völklingen steel plant
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Saarstahl Völklingen steel plant, also known as Saarstahl LD-Stahlwerk, Nauweiler, Völklingen works, Saarstahl Völklingen, is a steel plant in Völklingen, Saarland, Germany that operates basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.
Location
The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Völklingen, Saarland, Germany:
- Location: Torhaus 1, Schlachthofstraße 3, 66333 Völklingen, Germany
- Coordinates (WGS 84): 49.247635, 6.848662 (exact)
Background
Saarstahl AG was a result of several mergers across time: starting from the 1971 merger of Röchling'schen Eisen- und Stahlwerke with Burbacher Hütte, owned by Luxembourg steel group Arbed to form Stahlwerke Röchling-Burbach GmbH, which in 1982 merged with Neunkircher Eisenwerk AG resulting in Arbed Saarstahl GmbH.[1] Through the BF-BOF route, the plant produces 2.7 million tonnes of steel every year.[2]
On May 10 2024, a gas pipeline was damaged on the plant site in Völklingen which triggered a gas alarm resulting in an evacuation from a nearby UNESCO-heritage site (“Völklinger Hütte”) and a supermarket.[3]
On August 22 2024, a 37-year-old woman employee at the Völklingen site of Saarstahl died during shunting (rail car) work.[4]
Transition
Owner Saarstahl AG has committed to SBTi targets for carbon neutrality by 2050.[5] In 2022, the company announced a transition away from BF-BOF production by building an EAF at the Völklingen plant, to be commissioned by 2027, with production planned to begin in 2028.[6][7] The 3 BOFs on site will be closed by 2045, and the announced EAF will have flexible mix of feedstock that uses anywhere from 20%-100% scrap, with the rest being a mix of DRI and HBI. [8] In October, 2025, the company announced that is had secured €1.7 billion in financing for the transformation.[9] SHS Group also announced that it had signed a supply and purchase agreement with Verso Energy for 6,000 tonnes of green hydrogen.[10]
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Plant Details
Table 1: General Plant Details
| Start date | Workforce size |
|---|---|
| 1873[11] | 800[12] |
Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information
| Parent company | Parent company PermID | Parent GEM entity ID | Owner | Owner company PermID | Owner GEM entity ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montan-Stiftung-Saar [74.9%]; unknown [26.1%] | 5039602334 [74.9%]; not applicable [26.1%] | E100001016169 [74.9%]; E100000132388 [26.1%] | Saarstahl AG [100%][12] | 4296258509 | E100001010067 [100%] |
Table 3: Process and Products
| Steel product category | Steel products | Steel sector end users | ISO 14001 | ISO 50001 | Main production equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| semi-finished, finished rolled[12] | wire, spring steel, bars[12] | automotive, building and infrastructure, energy, tools and machinery, transport[13] | 2024-05-31[14] | 2025-06-26[14] | BOF; EAF |
Table 4: Plant-level Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)
| Capacity operating status1 | Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity | Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity | Nominal crude steel capacity (total) |
|---|---|---|---|
| announced | – | 1900[15] | 1900[15] |
| operating pre-retirement | 2700[16] | – | 2700[16] |
Table 5: Actual Plant-level Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)
| Year | BOF production | Other/unknown steel production | Total (all routes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1955[17] | unknown[17] | 1955[17] |
| 2020 | 1879[18] | unknown[18] | 1879[18] |
| 2021 | 2638[19] | unknown[19] | 2638[19] |
| 2022 | 2261[20] | unknown[20] | 2261[20] |
| 2023 | 1703[21] | –[21] | 1703[21] |
| 2024 | 2183[21] | –[21] | 2183[21] |
Unit Details
Table 6: Electric Arc Furnace Details
| Unit name | Status | Announced date | Start date | Furnace manufacturer and model | Current capacity (ttpa) | Current size (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unknown EAF (1) | announced[22] | 2022-06[22] | 2027[22] | SMS Group[23][15] | 1900[15] | 185.0[23] |
Table 7: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details
| Unit name | Scrap-based | % scrap | % DRI | % HBI | % sponge iron (unknown if DRI or HBI) | % basic/merchant pig iron | % granulated pig iron | % pig iron (unknown if basic/merchant or granulated) | % other iron |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| unknown EAF (1) | yes[23] | 60.00[23] | >0[23] | >0[23] | 40.00[23] | 0[23] | 0[23] | 0[23] | 0[23] |
Table 8: Basic Oxygen Furnace Details
| Unit name | Status | Current capacity (ttpa) | Current size |
|---|---|---|---|
| unknown BOF (1) | operating pre-retirement[24] | 900[16] | 180.0 tonnes[16] |
| unknown BOF (2) | operating pre-retirement[24] | 900[16] | 180.0 tonnes[16] |
| unknown BOF (3) | operating pre-retirement[24] | 900[16] | 180.0 tonnes[16] |
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ "History". Saarstahl. Retrieved 11 October, 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "2.7 million tonnes – Produced by our LD steelmaking plant per year". Saarstahl. Retrieved 11 October, 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Kremers, Thorsten; Stanger, Ralph (May 10, 2024). "Weltkulturerbe und Supermarkt geräumt!". Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Saarstahl-Mitarbeiterin (37) stirbt bei Arbeitsunfall". Bild. August 22, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Sustainability by conviction: SHS Group Net Zero targets confirmed by SBTi". en.saarstahl.com. December 19, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Supervisory boards decide: green steel will be produced in the Saar region". Dillinger. June 20, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Einfach pur: Pure Steel+". pure-steel.com. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Germany's Saarstahl to move towards carbon neutrality target with new EAF". SteelOrbis. October 14, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "Germany's Saarstahl and Dillinger secure 1.7 billion financing for Power4Steel green steel project". SteelOrbis. October 13, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ "SHS Group and Verso Energy Sign Groundbreaking Hydrogen Contract". Fuel Cell Works. September 5, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190913/https://whc.unesco.org/document/154029. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20211109175630/https://www.saarstahl.com/sag/en/group/production-works/voelklingen-works/ld-steeelmaking-plant/index.shtml. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://en.saarstahl.com/products/applications/automotive/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20211109233651/https://www.saarstahl.com/sag/en/products/quality-and-innovation/certification-and-approvals/index.shtml. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 https://www.seaisi.org/details/25550?type=news-rooms.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 https://en.saarstahl.com/saarstahl/company/production-sites/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 (PDF) https://en.saarstahl.com/app/uploads/2024/03/20210802052216-Geschaeftsbericht_SAG_Englisch_2020.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 (PDF) https://en.saarstahl.com/app/uploads/2024/03/20221026031313-Executive-Summary-of-the-Financial-Statement-Saarstahl-2021.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 (PDF) https://en.saarstahl.com/app/uploads/2023/07/Geschaeftsbericht_SAG_Englisch_2022_Einzeln.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 (PDF) https://en.saarstahl.com/app/uploads/2024/10/Executive-Summary-of-the-Financial-Statement-Saarstahl-2023.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 (PDF) https://en.saarstahl.com/app/uploads/2025/09/executive_summary_of_the_financial_statement_saarstahl_2024.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 https://www.dillinger.de/d/en/news/press-releases/supervisory-boards-decide-green-steel-will-be-produced-in-the-saar-region-102842.shtml.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 23.00 23.01 23.02 23.03 23.04 23.05 23.06 23.07 23.08 23.09 23.10 https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/germanys-saarstahl-to-move-towards-carbon-neutrality-target-with-new-eaf-1361379.htm.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20230628070039/https://www.pure-steel.com/en/our-path-to-green-steel/. Archived from the original on 2023-06-28.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
