15/11/2024 – New EAF will significantly contribute to Stahl-Holding Saar (SHS) carbon neutrality plan by 2045
With 300MVA of transformer capacity is one of the strongest EAF worldwide
SMS group was awarded a contract to supply one of the world’s strongest Alternate Current-Electric Arc Furnaces (AC-EAF) and its auxiliaries to Saarstahl in Völklingen, Germany. This will contribute to SHS’ goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Jochen Burg, CEO SMS group: “We are proud to play a key role in Europe's green steel transformation with this major project for Saarstahl and SHS – Stahl-Holding Saar.” © SMS Group
The new 185t EAF will be built within an already defined brownfield area. With a transformer capacity of 300MVA, it will be one of the strongest EAF in the world. Additionally, it will process a flexible mix of up to 100% scrap or 80% Cold Direct Reduced Iron (CDRI)/ Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) and 20% scrap.
Featuring 9.3m shell-diameter – the largest EAF ever built by SMS group – it will have an annual capacity of 1.9 million tons of liquid steel. This investment aligns with SHS's strategic plan to utilize a mix of 70% to 85% natural gas and 30% to 15% hydrogen as an energy source by 2030, significantly reducing carbon emissions.
With phase I starting in October 2024 and the first heat expected in September 2028, the plant will produce various steel grades, including bearing steel, free-cutting steel, and spring steel.
The EAF will be equipped with “Condoor”, SMS’ enhanced slag door, ensuring significant advantages in terms of safety, productivity, energy savings and environmental impact. “Condoor” enables automatic operation, reduces power-off time, ensures a clean slag door sill, saves energy and lowers NOx emissions with a sealed shell. Additionally, it optimises slag residence time, improving flux and raw material use while reducing electrode, carbon and lime consumption, thus lowering CO2 footprint.
Part of the scope is also a material handling system with bins designed for specific production grades, a liquid steel handling, refractory repair area, a water treatment plant, compressed air piping, two fume treatment plants, energy recovery and electric/automation systems, noise insulation, hybrid technology cars for scrap bucket movements, auxiliary cranes as well as bay and field piping.
The EAF will feature SMS group’s advanced “X-Pact” automation, including “X-Pact Sense” for leakage detection and “X-Pact Autotap” for safe and automated tapping. “Genius CM” will be implemented for predictive maintenance, enhancing operational efficiency and safety. Additional innovations include “SafEBT-clean” for automatic cleaning of the “Eccentric Bottom Tapping” (EBT) channel to ensure the highest rate of spontaneous “EBT” opening, “SafEBT-fill” for automatic sand filling, temperature taking and exchange of probes.
Jochen Burg, CEO SMS group: “We are proud to play a key role in Europe's green steel transformation with this major project for Saarstahl and SHS – Stahl-Holding Saar. The project highlights the long-standing partnership between SHS and SMS group. With an installed power of 300MVA the new EAF is the biggest ever built by SMS group and will set a new milestone in a carbon-neutral future for the steel industry in Europe.”
