Steelworks

Steel mills produce crude steel and processable intermediates for construction, mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, energy, infrastructure, and numerous industrial value chains. The sector is currently heavily impacted by decarbonization, high energy and transformation costs, and low capacity utilization in key sales markets. In Germany, crude steel production in 2025, at 34.1 million tons, remained significantly below an economically viable level for the fourth consecutive year of the crisis, while a moderate recovery in demand is not expected internationally until 2026. At the same time, hydrogen-compatible processes, scrap utilization, the circular economy, and digital efficiency improvements are gaining in importance. As a result, the sector remains crucial for industrial supply security, climate-related transformation, and the competitiveness of production locations.