As if all of this were not enough of a challenge, there is now increased pressure to switch to a more climate-friendly production method.
In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the iron and steel industry is by far the biggest polluter of all German industries. The Thyssenkrupp company alone is responsible for around 2.5 percent of all German CO2 emissions .
Emitting CO 2 is no longer austria rcs data free, however; industrial companies need emission certificates (EUAs) from the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to do so. The price of EUAs is currently between 70 and 80 euros per tonne of CO 2 . to rise. At present, however, the steel industry receives most of its emission certificates for free at the start of a so-called trading period. However, the proportion of EUAs allocated free of charge is set to fall in the future. However, the steel industry does not have much to fear immediately, because the blast furnaces are initially set to be spared from the stricter rules.
If the German steel industry switches to green steel, it can assume that this will not necessarily make the end products that much more expensive. The Steel Industry Association has calculated that the price increase for a combustion engine car, for example, would be a maximum of 0.7 percent. A 1,000-euro washing machine would therefore only be a maximum of 6 euros more expensive. However, given how deep the crisis is for steel, even small price differences could be decisive.