STEAG

Energy company STEAG GmbH,Essen/Germany, steel producer thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, Duisburg/Germany and electrolysis technology specialist thyssen-krupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers GmbH, Dortmund/Germany, are working on a joint feasibility study. The study deals with the construction of a water electrolysis plant at the STEAG site in Duisburg-Walsum by thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers, the structuring of energy supply and operation of the electrolysis plant by STEAG and the supply of green hydrogen and oxygen to thyssenkrupp Steel’s steel mill in the neighboring Duisburg district of Bruckhausen (Figure 1). The study will lay the basis for the subsequent project development. All three parties involved are planning to participate as investors and will actively seek private and public funding.

The hydrogen strategies recently adopted by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as well as those of the German Federal Government and the EU underline the importance of hydrogen for a climate-neutral society. They endorse the development of a hydrogen economy and infrastructure in Germany and in Europe. In this context, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the city of Duisburg can play a key role. This region is the center of hydrogen demand and technological expertise for the construction and operation of electrolysis plants. The hydrogen roadmap of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia illustrates this fact, and the collaboration of three companies based in this region aimed at establishing a local hydrogen production hub underlines this perspective.

In the coming years, thyssenkrupp Steel’s climate strategy will entail a continuously increasing and constant demand for green hydrogen. In a first step, this hydrogen is to substitute part of the carbon in the existing blast furnaces, lateron it is to be used in new direct reduction plants. In the next few years, the company expects the conversion of one blast furnace to result in a demand of around 20,000 t/a of green hydrogen. This demand will increase to some 720,000 t/a by 2050 as a result of the gradual conversion of the plants and equipment. With a capacity of up to 500 MW, the projected electrolysis plant on the STEAG site could produce as much as about 75,000 t/a of green hydrogen – enough for the first direct reduction plant of the steel producer. It would thus make an important contribution to the short- and long-term supply of the steel mill.

“At its core, our climate transformation is based on the use of hydrogen“, explains Arnd Köfler, Chief Technology Officer at thyssenkrupp Steel. “It is the key to using the great potential we have in reducing CO₂ emissions in the steel industry. It is important to plan ahead. We must set the course for supply today so that we can produce climate-neutral steel tomorrow. In this context, the cooperation between three companies based in the region is an important element. With this project, we will lay the foundation of a hydrogen economy in North Rhine-Westphalia. Moreover, this project offers investors the possibility to directly invest in this growth market.“

The immediate proximity of the sites allows optimum transport connections to the steel-works. The project includes the construction of two new pipelines to transport hydrogen and oxygen from Walsum to the steel mill less than 3 km away. The connection to the extra high-voltage grid ensures the supply of green electricity for the electrolysis, large-scale battery systems ensure grid stability. The approximately 15 ha site in Duisburg-Walsum offers the possibility to erect electrolysis units with a total capacity of up to 500 MW. It also has a connection to the existing natural gas network, which in the future could also be used for the transport of hydrogen.

But not only the physical proximity of the STEAG site is an argument in favor of the Essen-based energy company. With the “HydroHub” in Völklingen-Fenne,Saarland/Germany, a project outline included by the Federal Ministry of Economics in the group of “Real-World Laboratories of the Energy Revolution”, STEAG has already gained experience in the field of hydrogen economy.

“The joint project of thyssenkrupp and STEAG would send out a strong signal for an important center of the German industry. Construction and operation of an electrolysis plant of this scale would not only safeguard the steel and energy location in Duisburg, but would make the city the center of a thriving green hydrogen economy in one go. This will have an impact beyond Duisburg and the Ruhr region“, says STEAG’s Managing Director Ralf Schiele. Duisburg would thus become a global beacon project in the field of climate-neutral steel production. At the same time, the project is an important part of STEAG’s strategic reorientation, with the focus on developing the business with energy solutions and on intensifying activities in the field of renewables.

The water electrolysis will be installed by thyssenkrupp Uhde Chlorine Engineers’ product division Green Hydrogen and consists of pre-fabricated standard modules. This modular system allows to easily scale up a plant to several hundred megawatts or gigawatts. This is why the technology is particularly suitable even beyond green steel production for an industrial-scale decarbonization on the path towards sustainable value chains and CO₂ reduction. This kind of sector coupling enables new business models and a sustainable circular economy, which is to be completely powered by renewable energy sources in the future. Together with the Business Unit Chemical and Process Technologies, thyssenkrupp in Dortmund is able to supply the entire range of green chemicals, from hydrogen to ammonia, methanol and synthetic natural gas, thus contributing significantly to a climate-neutral industry.

Being the largest project of its kind, this is a blueprint for exporting know-how and high-tech applications from North Rhine-Westphalia to the world. “We are excited to contribute our 50 years of experience in the planning, construction and operation of electrolysis plants to this project, in order to produce competitive green hydrogen on an industrial scale“, says Sami Pelkonen, CEO of the Business Unit Chemical and Process Technologies. “In this strong partnership, we can bring our cutting-edge technology from the region available for the region.”

The project will be open to investors. Aside from participating in the project development, investors can acquire
shares in the new operating company to be founded. In doing so, investors finance – together with the project partners – the development and construction of the water electrolysis plant and the connection to the steel mill, while securing a stable cash flow due to the regular purchase of green hydrogen and oxygen by thyssenkrupp Steel. The geographical proximity to the customer makes the project largely independent of third parties and facilitates its swift realization. Apart from attracting investors, the project partners will also apply for public funding granted within the scope of state aid for climate-neutral technologies.

The project development is planned to start as soon as a positive result of the feasibility study is obtained. (STEAG/Si.)

With immediate effect STEAG Solar Energy Solutions, Würzburg/Germany, a subsidiary of the energy company STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, is cooperating in a new joint venture with the LSG Group from Vienna/Austria. The long-standing partners and PV experts will in future be known to customers as SENS LSG. Together their focus will be on the photovoltaics markets of Eastern Europe.

Never change a winning team – is perhaps the best description of the collaboration that André Kremer, Managing Director of SENS, and Karl Göth, Managing Director of the LSG Group, have now confirmed with their signatures (Figure 1). With the conclusion of a new joint venture agreement the two partners have created the official basis for continuing their successful cooperation. SENS and the Austrian PV service provider have been working closely together on a range of PV projects since 2015.

“For years we have held LSG in the highest esteem – both professionally and, especially, personally. It was therefore clear from the very beginning that we would also continue our joint activities under the umbrella of STEAG,” says Kremer with satisfaction. The target is to build up a project portfolio of around 1,000 MW over the next five years.

The partners have their sights set mainly on the development and construction of solar parks as well as service operations in Eastern Europe and beyond. The focus in the early stages is on Hungary, Romania and Greece. The initial projects in Hungary are already under construction. Ground-mounted PV systems, e. g., with a total output of 65 MW are currently being built at five locations in Hungary, with completion scheduled for the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Since 2015 the current STEAG subsidiary SENS and the LSG Group have together constructed large-scale PV installations with a total capacity of over 230 MWp. Outstanding projects have been implemented in Mongolia, Moldova, Russia and Australia, among other countries. In Mongolia, e. g., a 30 MW park was built under challenging conditions in the heart of the Gobi desert. And in Australia two PV projects in Queensland were successfully completed and connected to the grid. These are just two examples of the excellent cooperation between the two experienced partners. Within the framework of the new joint venture the teams will, as in the past, support each other in planning, project development, construction management and the purchase of components.

“We are delighted that we are now continuing our cooperation in this form,” stated Göth during the signing ceremony in Würzburg, adding: “Our collaboration is characterised by an exceptionally supportive and cooperative relationship, combining professionalism and reliability on the one hand with a great deal of enthusiasm and commitment on the other. For us, working with SENS means not only successful projects but also a very special kind of teamwork”. (STEAG/Si.)

STEAG GmbH (Figure 1), Essen/Germany, is pushing ahead with refocusing its business and realigning its organization. With change well under way in the energy sector and the politically and socially desired decarbonization in particular of energy generation and industry, this process of transformation is gaining impetus. The energy company has long been operating successfully in growth areas beyond its previous core business, and these are increasingly becoming the focus of its activities.

At the same time, the company founded more than 80 years ago is having to adopt painful measures with regard to its workforce. Since the legislation of Germany’s Coal-Fired Power Generation Termination Act (KVBG) entered into force, it has been clear that over the course of the coming years, STEAG will gradually have to shut down and decommission most of its hard coal-fired power plants in Germany – with the exception of Walsum 10, which only went into operation in 2013.

In total, it is anticipated that STEAG will have to cut around 1,000 jobs at the power plant sites in the Ruhr area and the Saarland, in the directly related activities, on the administration side and in its other operative business in Germany. “STEAG sees itself as having a clear responsibility for the employees concerned. We are striving to make job cuts as fair and as socially responsible as possible,” emphasizes Andreas Reichel, Industrial Relations Director and member of STEAG’s Board of Management. He points out, however, that the current difficult economic situation of the company means that the financial resources available for this purpose will be more limited than in the past.

The aim is for STEAG to realign itself under its own steam. At the end of this transformation, STEAG will be more flexible, more powerful and smaller than it is today. “STEAG’s wide-ranging technical and energy expertise means we have good prospects for playing an important role on the energy markets of tomorrow,” Joachim Rumstadt, Chairman of the STEAG Board of Management, stresses. The focus of the new business segments is on smart, end-to-end energy solutions and the renewable energies market. Business activities will be centered on the decarbonization of industry and on developing digital business models.

STEAG’s new structure is to be in place by the start of the 2022 financial year. The corresponding plans have been presented to the company’s Supervisory Board at its meeting on 30th September 2020.

“We are convinced that the realignment will make us more successful and at the same time more attractive to new investors, even if great challenges and efforts lie ahead of us this year and next,” Rumstadt remarks. (STEAG/Si.)

STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, is looking back on a satisfactory business year 2019. In a difficult market environment, the energy company has successfully maintained its position, achieved its earnings targets and increased its profitability. This creates a sound basis for mastering the major challenges of the current year.

The German Parliament is expected to pass the Act on the Reduction and Termination of Coal-fired Power Generation (KVBG) in the summer. As things stand at present, this will probably mean that operators of hard coal fired power plants will have to shut down their plants quickly by 2030 at the latest and not, as in the case of lignite, by 2038. Hard coal is also at a disadvantage in terms of compensation payments compared with lignite. “This is a clear departure from the recommendations of the Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment,” criticizes Joachim Rumstadt, Chairman of the Board of Management of STEAG.

If the Federal Government does not take account of the objections, which are shared not only by STEAG and other operators of hard coal fired power plants, but also by the Upper House of Parliament, STEAG reserves the right to take legal action against the Act. “We accept the will of the people and the political decision to abandon coal-fired power generation in Germany,” Rumstadt clarifies. “But we cannot agree with the currently planned legal implementation.”

The COVID-19 corona virus pandemic is a further exacerbating factor. The Ifo business climate index, an important early indicator of economic developments in Germany, recently plummeted to its lowest level ever. The damage caused by the standstill in public life and large parts of the economy around the globe is considerable. Even if the restrictions are slowly eased and a gradual return to normality is initiated, economic researchers expect a severe recession in 2020, not only in Germany and Europe, but almost everywhere in the world.

STEAG, one of the major electricity and heat producers in Germany and an international operator of power generation plants, is also clearly feeling the effects of the pandemic. Large energy consumers, especially from industry, are cutting back or shutting down their production. As a result, demand for electricity is falling and electricity prices are dropping. “The start of 2020 was quite encouraging, because in the first three months we were well ahead of our plans,” says Rumstadt. “But now there is a clear reversal.” That applies in particular to Turkey, an important electricity market for STEAG. In addition, 140 employees of the German subsidiary STEAG Technischer Service are currently on short-time work. This is due to the fact that maintenance measures at the company’s own power plants or at plants of external customers have been postponed or reduced to a minimum. The introduction of short time is also being examined in other business units. At the same time, STEAG has taken consistent protective measures for its own employees to ensure that a secure supply of electricity and heat is guaranteed by the company at all times.

Moreover, the increasingly deteriorating economic conditions are making the transformation process, which has been successful to date and in which STEAG – like all energy companies with a comparable business model – finds itself because of the energy transition, more difficult. Further milestones were reached in 2019 in the company’s transformation, which began in 2016 with the “STEAG 2022” project. Here are four examples:

1. Strategic acquisition in the photovoltaic sector (Figure 1). STEAG has succeeded in making a strategically important acquisition in the renewables sector. Thanks to the extensive know-how and the international network of the youngest group subsidiary STEAG Solar Energy Solutions, or SENS for short, STEAG has taken a major step forward in the growth market of photovoltaics (PV). SENS’s core competencies include the development and turnkey installation of large ground-mounted PV plants. In Sicily, SENS is developing around 440 MW of ground-mounted PV capacity together with a financial investor. In terms of figures, the systems cover the electricity needs of around 350,000 households with CO₂-free energy.
2. Hydrogen project on the Saar. With the “Fenne HydroHub” project supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the “Living Labs for the Energy Transition” program, STEAG is helping to develop Saarland further as a traditional location for the energy industry. The focus is on hydrogen, the combustion of which avoids climate-damaging emissions. At the site of the STEAG Fenne power plant in Völklingen, large quantities of green hydrogen are to be produced with the aid of an electrolyzer when there is a surplus of wind and solar energy. This can then be used in a variety of ways, e. g., in Saarland-based steel companies which need it for their industrial processes. However, it can also be fed into the regional gas network and additionally supplies public hydrogen filling stations in Saarland. In addition, hydrogen can be used to generate electricity again. Furthermore, the heat generated during the production of hydrogen can be fed into the Fernwärmeverbund Saar (FVS) district heating network.
3. New combined cycle power plant in the heart of the Ruhr area. At the Herne site, STEAG and its partner Siemens are building a new and highly efficient combined cycle power plant. The plant, which is scheduled to go into regular operation in mid-2022, operates on the principle of combined heat and power (CHP) and will provide an environmentally friendly district heating supply to a calculated 300,000 households in the heart of the Ruhr area. By investing a sum in the mid hundreds of million euros, which the project partners are sharing equally, STEAG and Siemens are actively contributing to the success of the energy transition. In the period of transition to climate-neutral power generation, low-CO₂ natural gas power generation will be indispensable as a bridging technology. Combined cycle gas turbine plants will form the backbone of a secure energy supply in Germany after the phase-out of nuclear power and the end of coal-fired power generation. In the long term, green hydrogen has the potential to replace fossil fuels in power generation and could also be used in the Herne CCGT plant.
4. Efficient industrial solution for BP. STEAG is constructing a new process steam supply system for the BP petroleum company on the site of the BP refinery in the Scholven district of Gelsenkirchen. Refinery gases which have been flared and therefore unused to date are burned and thus made available for energy production. This protects the environment and conserves resources. And in the event that less process steam is drawn from the refinery than is available from burning the refinery gases, electricity is produced with the excess steam by means of a condensing turbine. The “Steam” project ensures the best possible energy recovery from the previously unused refinery gases.

These four examples alone show that STEAG takes the resolutions of the Paris Climate Protection Agreement and the CO₂ reduction targets of the EU into account in its business activities. Compared to 1990, STEAG reduced its CO₂ emissions by 79 % by the end of 2019. Long before the coal phase-out law is passed, STEAG has already decommissioned a large part of its hard coal fired power plants in Germany, using its own financial resources.

For STEAG, the year 2020 is also marked by the strategic repositioning of the company. Teams of experts from the Group’s various divisions have been working for months on the further development of the corporate strategy. “Thanks to the technical and energy management expertise that STEAG has acquired in its more than 80 years of corporate history, we will successfully position ourselves on the energy markets of the future,” Rumstadt is convinced.

The consistently pursued Group restructuring is also paying off in terms of the expanded opportunities for financing the company. The process for a green ESG rating was successfully completed at the beginning of the year. This rating, which assesses environmental issues in particular, is becoming increasingly important as a selection criterion for institutional investors. On this basis, STEAG aims to offer green financing instruments for the first time.

Owing to the overall lower level of capacity utilization at STEAG’s domestic hard coal-fired power plants and the resulting, now netted out presentation of trading transactions, consolidated sales fell in 2019 from 2.9 bn € in the previous year to 2.1 bn €. However, Group earnings improved significantly compared with 2018. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose from 160.6 M € in 2018 to 210.2 M €. Positive one-off effects also contributed to this.

Consolidated earnings after taxes amounted to 131.9 M €, a multiple of the previous year’s figure of 12.7 M €. As in the previous year, 45 M € will be transferred to the shareholder Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft KSBG.

Total liquidity in the Group amounted to 432.9 M € at the end of the business year, compared with 565.5 M € in the previous year. The increase in free cash flow from 100.5 M € in 2018 to 218.5 M € is positive.

At the beginning of the year, STEAG’s management had forecast an increase in sales to 2.4 bn € for the current business year. In the absence of favorable one-off effects of a similar magnitude to those reported for 2019, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were initially expected to fall by around 10 %. Due to the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy, STEAG’s management now assumes that the original plans can no longer be achieved despite the measures already introduced to increase earnings.

Investments of up to 212 M € are planned for 2020. Around 120 M € of this will be spent on growth projects. STEAG invested 136.9 M € in 2019. (STEAG/Si.)

STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, has now published its first sustainability report. There, the energy company documents the wide variety of ways in which it is taking on social responsibility. “We are fully aware that only sustainable, responsible action can secure the success of a business in the long term,” says Joachim Rumstadt, Chairman of the STEAG Board of Management.

The issue of sustainability has many different aspects within the company. They range from environmental concerns to the protection of human rights and the health and safety of own employees. “For many years now, we have firmly anchored ecological and social evaluation and decision-making criteria in key processes within the Group,” says Jörg Nierhaus, Chief Compliance Officer at STEAG.

STEAG’s corporate activities in the area of sustainability are aligned with the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. The Global Compact is a voluntary commitment by companies under the auspices of the UN. It was launched at the beginning of the 21st century with the aim of making the process of globalization more socially and ecologically compatible. STEAG joined the Compact in 2011 and is actively involved in the German UN Global Compact Network. “The ten Global Compact principles cover the areas of “Human Rights”, “Labor”, “Environment” and “Anti-Corruption”,” Nierhaus explains. STEAG traditionally pays particular attention to the protection of human and employee rights, especially with foreign suppliers.

In addition, STEAG is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set down by the UN. They describe the UN guidelines for sustainable development of global society in the period up to 2030. All the member states of the UN committed themselves to following these goals in 2015. The goals range from eliminating poverty, protecting health and establishing gender equality, to climate and environmental protection and upholding the rule of law. “The Sustainable Development Goals are a kind of ethical compass for entrepreneurial action,” says Nierhaus. This can be seen, e. g., in the STEAG Group’s constant efforts to focus more and more on power generation from renewables, distributed solutions and the conservation of energy resources.

Thus, e. g., STEAG is constantly making sure that its district heating system is both more economical and less resource-intensive by tapping into waste heat sources. And a large proportion of the ash and dust produced in its power plants is treated and processed into CO₂-neutral materials for the construction industry.

At the same time, energy generation from renewable sources is becoming increasingly important at STEAG. It is above all photovoltaics (PV) that has recently shown considerable growth figures at STEAG (Figure 1). “Our youngest subsidiary, STEAG Solar Energy Solutions GmbH – SENS for short – will be building solar plants with an installed capacity of over 750 MW in Italy and Spain over the next 18 months,” says Rumstadt.

“Further large-scale plants are being planned and we have also successfully established ourselves on the domestic market: Thanks to our PV technology, the waterworks in Essen’s Überruhr district will in future produce 170,000 KWh/a of green electricity, and at our Saarland site in Völklingen-Fenne we are helping to shape the hydrogen-based and thus largely emission-free and climate-friendly energy future with the HydroHub Fenne project. (STEAG/Si.)

The supervisory board of STEAG GmbH, -Essen/Germany, has filled three vacancies on the company’s management board for the coming years. On 1st May 2020, Michael Baumgärtner, who left his role of CFO on the management board on 30th April 2020, was replaced by Heiko Sanders. The businessman and tax consultant, who holds a doctorate, has many years of experience in the energy sector. Up until September 2015, he was CFO of the energy service provider EWE AG in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony). From April 2016, he managed two of his own companies: Dr. Sanders Organisationsberatung, which focused on the areas of strategic development, mergers and acquisitions, and Dr. Sanders Investments. The appointment of Wolfgang Cieslik, Managing Director for Markets and Production, will end on 30th September 2020. His successor, Ralf Schiele, will take up his position on 1st October 2020. The PhD mechanical engineer and current chairman of the board at STEAG Energy Services GmbH (SES), has held various management positions within the STEAG Group since July 1999. SES is one of the world’s leading service providers for energy production facilities. Alfred Geißler, Director of Human Resources and Director of Labour Relations, will be succeeded by Andreas Reichel on 1st August 2020. The doctor of law is a member of the board of executives at E.DIS AG in the Brandenburg town of Fürstenwalde, is responsible for the Human Resources department, and is Director of Labour Relations. He simultaneously holds the role of Managing Director of Labour Relations at E.ON Deutschland. Since 1995, Andreas Reichel has held a leading role in various group companies in the energy sector.

A new and highly efficient combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Herne/Germany, will secure the supply of electricity and heat in the heart of the Ruhr area in the future (Figure 1). The new power plant will use the principle of combined heat and power generation (CHP), is therefore particularly resource-friendly, and in the future will replace the hard coalfired unit 4 of STEAG’s Herne Power Plant. The district government in Arnsberg has now approved the first construction phase.

Work on the foundation of the new power plant is currently underway at the Hertener Strasse site. A total of 777 concrete piles, each 15 m deep, have been driven into the ground to support the foundation blocks. These will in future support turbine and generator, which in a combined process can generate 608 MW of electricity and 400 MW of heat. By extracting the heat, the overall fuel efficiency of the natural gas used increases to 85 %, making the future power plant one of the most efficient and eco-friendly CCGT power plants worldwide.

STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, and Siemens will be investing a mid-three-digit million amount in the project. With the Herne CCGT Power Plant, they are actively contributing to the success of the energy transition, as the politically agreed phase-out of nuclear and coal-fired power generation necessitates investments in power plant capacities that can be used flexibly. “The new Herne CCGT Power Plant ideally meets the requirements for a forward-looking energy supply: It guarantees security of supply, is economical and efficient, and thus environmentally compatible”, says Joachim Rumstadt, Chairman of the Board of Management of STEAG. “After all, our motto is: “Securing safe and reliable energy supply. Now and in the future.””

But the Herne CCGT Power Plant is not only a showcase project in terms of energy efficiency. It also enables STEAG to once again demonstrate its comprehensive expertise in the field of energy generation. Developing and implementing complex engineering projects is one of STEAG’s acknowledged core competencies.

But political support is needed if there are to be further eco-friendly CHP projects in Germany beyond 2022. “The Federal Government must reach an agreement with the EU Commission as soon as possible on financial support for projects of this kind based on the CHP Act remaining compatible with European state aid law”, remarks Rumstadt in pressing for speedy clarification. “Until that comes about, all new projects for the period beyond 2022 will be left hanging in mid-air.”

The Herne CCGT Power Plant project partners are determined to bring the new power plant into continuous commercial operation by the end of 2022 in order to avoid any risk in terms of CHP subsidies.

The project is also of great significance for Herne as a town and business center. “It is a statement for industrial employment opportunities and climate protection in Herne. In future, one of the most modern and eco-friendly combined cycle power plants in Europe will be supplying much of the Ruhr area with climate-friendly district heating. In Herne, STEAG’s employees are playing a decisive role in shaping the energy transition for Germany”, Frank Dudda, Mayor of Herne, points out.

STEAG has traditional links with Herne as a location, and is i. e. currently building a modern training center for industrial trainees focusing on electrical and service engineering in Herne’s Forellstrasse. “Both projects – the CCGT Power Plant and the training center – are groundbreaking investments in the future of the Ruhr area as a business location and STEAG as a company”, Rumstadt emphasizes. (STEAG/Si.)

STEAG Solar Energy Solutions (SENS), the most recent subsidiary of the STEAG Group, Essen/Germany, is growing steadily in the field of renewable energy. André Kremer, Managing Director of SENS, and Matej Lednicky, Head of Transaction Management Infrastructure with the investment company KGAL Investment Management GmbH & Co. KG, confirmed their cooperation in Italy when they signed the contract in Milan.

In Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, the joint venture will develop up to 440 MW of open-space photovoltaic (PV) capacity. This is the largest project volume that the Würzburg-based STEAG subsidiary has ever implemented. The installations will be able to provide over 350,000 households with CO₂-free energy (Figure 1).

This major project involves a total of six solar parks in Sicily. The installations will be erected in the provinces of Palermo and Trapani within a radius of around 40 km. Construction of the first section is scheduled to start at the end of 2020. “Our latest subsidiary is getting off to a great start with this major order. Our confidence in the expertise of SENS on the market for photovoltaic systems is already paying off after only a short time as a member of the STEAG Group,” says Joachim Rumstadt, Chairman of the Management Board of STEAG. By the end of 2021 all the parks are to be directly connected to the network of the Italian grid operator Terna by means of a newly-built transformer station.

“We are delighted to have such a prestigious partner and investor as KGAL for this demanding project in Italy,” says Kremer. For SENS and the investment company from Grünwald near Munich the project development in Sicily represents a further milestone in a long and successful partnership.

“For many years we have trusted in the expertise of SENS for the construction, operation and maintenance of our PV systems. I am sure that we will once again work together efficiently and in a spirit of mutual confidence,” says Lednicky. In addition to the implementation of several large-scale PV installations in Italy, for more than ten years now the Italian SENS service team has been maintaining various installations on behalf of KGAL as the service provider with overall responsibility.

With this project in Sicily, SENS (formerly GILDEMEISTER energy solutions) is once again entering the Italian solar-park development business. After founding the subsidiary in 2009 with locations in Milan and Lecce, SENS has designed and constructed a range of large-scale PV projects. Today the company is one of the largest providers of technical services for PV systems in Italy and offers a comprehensive range of services with its own technicians nationwide.

The currently planned systems with their total capacity of up to 440 MWp are only the starting point for further activities. “Italy, Spain and Germany will be the three most important European markets for SENS in 2020. We see enormous potential here – and not just from our own developments,” states Kremer. (STEAG/Si.)

Fenne HydroHub is set to become a living laboratory for the energy transition. The project outline, which was developed by STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, jointly with project partners Siemens AG, the Institute for Future Energy and Material Flow Systems (IZES gGmbH) and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI GmbH) and entered in the competition held by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), was selected from amongst 90 entries and judged to be eligible for support. On 19th July 2019 in Berlin, Peter Altmaier (CDU), Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, thereby highlighted that Fenne HydroHub is an important building block for a successful energy transition in Germany in the future.

During a press conference given by Altmaier, a total of 20 projects were invited to submit official applications for funding. “This is a great success for the project community and underlines our strategy: STEAG is making pertinent contributions to the energy transition at power plants located in Saarland and in North Rhine-Westphalia,” says Wolfgang Cieslik, Member of the Board of STEAG with responsibility for the Market and Technology segment. The Federal Ministry will provide the selected projects with a total of 100 M € of support until 2025. This is planned to start from the coming year.

The project partners entered the BMWi “Living Labs for the Energy Transition” competition with their “Fenne HydroHub” project outline. The German government is aiming to accelerate the expansion of hydrogen technologies and the establishment of integrated energy solutions, and make them ready for the market. “With this innovative hydrogen infrastructure project, we wish to show a route towards the necessary further development of the energy transition, as well as to develop recommendations for the regulatory framework conditions for the economic construction and operation of this type of CO₂-free system,” says Prof. Thomas Thiemann, Director of the Energy Transition Technologies Team at project partner Siemens Gas&Power.

With the phase-out of nuclear power production in 2022 and the planned end of coal-fired power generation in 2038, one thing is certain: Wind and solar energy will be the main pillars of electricity supply in Germany in the future. However, both renewable energy sources are subject to weather-related fluctuations. As an energy medium, hydrogen can balance out these fluctuations. At the STEAG power station in Völklingen-Fenne (Figure 1), this is to take place at an energy hub where the electricity grid, the district heating grid and a gas pipeline run together. “The term “integrated energy solutions”, which up until now has been seen as the theoretical key to making the energy transition successful, is a reality at our plant,” says Cieslik.

And this is how the project outline looks: In periods of excess supply of wind and solar energy at the STEAG power station, the project partners generate hydrogen using an electrolyser. This energy source can then be used in various ways thanks to the integration of electricity and gas grids, industry and transport. The hydrogen is supplied to nearby steelworks, e. g., which require it for industrial processes. It is fed into the regional gas network and also supplies public hydrogen filling stations for fuel cell vehicles in Saarland. The hydrogen can also be turned into electricity later. The heat which is generated during the production of the hydrogen is extracted from STEAG into the Saar District Heat grid.

The electricity-based production of hydrogen (electrolysis) is intended to be conducted on an industrial scale using renewable energies. Electricity from wind and solar power is used to split water into oxygen and “green hydrogen” by electrolysis. The hydrogen can then be used as a substitute for fossil fuels, making energy production CO₂-free. For energy-intensive industries such as steel and chemicals, the use of hydrogen can be a decisive step towards better environmental compatibility and climate neutrality. With the “Fenne -HydroHub”, the four partners in the project are creating a prototype that can also be implemented at other locations across Germany. In addition to reducing CO₂ emissions, this will also create new jobs. They estimate an investment volume in the mid two-digit million range.

The four partners are breaking new ground in Völklingen-Fenne, since the interaction of various components and systems is being tested on an industrial scale for the first time. A new electrolyser, a large hydrogen storage tank and a new high-temperature heat pump come together with an existing large-scale battery system, a mine gas engine cogeneration plant and an electrode boiler at this energy hub. This means that all the necessary connections to electricity, heat and gas networks are available and usable. In addition, STEAG is considering the construction of a combined cycle power plant at the Fenne site, in which hydrogen can be converted back to electricity on a large scale in a gas turbine. (STEAG/Si.)

It was an emotional evening in the historic machine hall of the STEAG power station, with a celebration that went into the early hours of the morning. Employees, family members, friends and former colleagues were invited to bid farewell to the founding location of Steinkohlen-Elektrizität AG (STEAG) on 19th January 2019 (Figure 1). On 31st December 2018, after almost 80 years of electricity generation in Lünen, coal-fired units 6 and 7 were taken off the grid once and for all.

More than 300 guests stood on the ground where STEAG first began generating electricity in 1940. Blue and red spotlights lit up the grand industrial hall for the celebration. The turbines, which were first taken off grid on 22nd December 2018, loomed in the background as sad reminders of the reason behind the event. Electricity generation at the site provided 101 jobs; that’s 101 career prospects.

The fact that the company and works council were able to cut jobs without any compulsory redundancies softened the blow somewhat. 48 employees are taking early retirement and 53 will be employed at other STEAG sites nearby.

In his speech, Joachim Rumstadt, Chair of the Executive Board at STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, thanked employees and emphasised, “We will continue to take corporate responsibility in Lünen and have a strong presence here.” Rumstadt referred to the state-of-the-art abrasives facility and the storage batteries that will continue to supply the important primary regulation energy for the power grid. The STEAG New Energies subsidiary in Lünen is also operating a biomass power station at Remondis. STEAG will also continue to be responsible for managing the state-of-the-art Trianel power station.

“All of this shows that STEAG is playing an important role in the revolution on the energy market,” said Rumstadt. Power station manager Kai-Uwe Braekler and Ralf Melis, Works Council Chairman of STEAG, then said goodbye to “their team”. Once the official part of the event was over, the common thread between all speeches – that as the founding location, Lünen had always been characterised by a strong sense of community and solidarity among the workforce – became clear to see, as they celebrated together until the early hours of the morning. (STEAG/Si.)