ArcelorMittal Bremen steel plant
|This article is part of the Global Steel Plant Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.|
The ArcelorMittal Bremen is a steel plant on the banks of the River Weser in Bremen, Germany.
The map below shows the location of the steel plant in Bremen, Germany.
Norddeutsche Hütte (1911-1945)
In 1911, an ironworks called Norddeutsche Hütte was established on the site. On April 2, 1911 the first of two blast furnaces built became operational. Other initially built facilities included 80 coke ovens with associated ammonia and tar plants. By 1912 a (slag) cement plant, benzene plant, third blast furnace, and a further 40 coke ovens had been installed; additionally coke gas was supplied to the Bremen region.
In 1922 the Stumm group (Saar) became a major shareholder; after 1927 Krupp became the major shareholder. During the Great Depression two blast furnaces and the cement plant were idled until they were restarted in 1935 and 1937/8. As part of economic policy toward self-sufficiency under Nazi Germany a steel production plant was added, and ferrovanadium production began. During the Second World War the workforce reached 1500, of which half were forced labourers.
Bombing of Bremen in World War II practically ended production at the plant by 1945. As part of reparations after the war, the vanadium plant was shipped to France. The blast furnaces were demolished in 1949, whilst the coking plant was retained, due to its necessity in supplying Bremen with gas. The cement plant was also retained for rebuilding work, supplied with bricks from destroyed buildings.
In 1954 Klöckner took over the Norddeutsche Hütte. The first stage of redevelopment was completed in 1957 at a cost of 400 million Deutschmarks, giving a capacity of 600,000 tons steel per annum. Facilities included three open hearth steelmaking furnaces, a hot rolling mill for coil and sheets, and a tinplate plant. In 1960 the board at Klöckner authorised a second phase (200 million Deutschmarks) to increase capacity to 1 million tons. In 1960 the ultimate aim was to develop the site as a full steel mill with a production capacity of 4 to 5 million tons of steel pa. Second and third blast furnaces were completed in the mid-1960s and early-1970s respectively; Linz-Donawitz process steel making converters were added in 1968 at a cost of 92 million Deutschmarks. A galvanising line called BREGAL (Bremer Galvanisierungs GmbH) was authorised in 1991, as a joint venture between Klöckner, Ägäis Stahlhandel and Rautaruukki.
In July 1994, an altered consortium incorporating private steel firm Sidmar (25% stake) was given permission by the European Commission to acquire the business. Blast furnace No. 3 was permanently closed in 1994, reducing production capacity by 500,000 tons pa. In 1994 Sidmar acquired a controlling stake (51%) in the company.
In 2002 the company became part of Arcelor through the merger of its parent and in 2006 the company was renamed Arcelor Bremen GmbH. In 2007 the company became part of ArcelorMittal through merger of the parent holding company.
In October 2020, ArcelorMittal announced plans to install an electrolyser at the ArcelorMittal Bremen steel plant, which will allow hydrogen to be produced and injected in large volumes into the blast furnace, reducing the volumes of coal needed in the iron ore reduction process.
- Private/State ownership: private
- Owner: ArcelorMittal Bremen GmbH
- Parent company: ArcelorMittal
- Alternative plant names: Klöckner Hütte Bremen (predecessor), Stahlwerke Bremen (predecessor), Norddeutsche Hütte (predecessor), Einheitliche Anlage Bremen
- Location: Carl-Benz-Strasse 30, D-28237 Bremen, Germany
- GPS Coordinates: 53.133305, 8.688193 (exact)
- Plant status: operating
- Start year: 1957 (age 63–64)
- Production capacities (thousand tonnes per annum):
- Production (thousand tonnes per annum):
- Crude steel: 3100 (BOF, 2019)
- Steel product category: flat
- Steelmaking process: integrated (BF)
- Primary steel production equipment: coking plant (146 coke ovens); sinter plant; blast furnace (BF) (# unknown); basic oxygen furnace (BOF) (# unknown)
- Met coal source: Prosper-Haniel mine
Articles and resources
- Germany, ArcelorMittal, Retrieved on: Mar. 6, 2020
- Hemmer, Eike; Meyerholz, Horst; Tech, Daniel, eds. (29 March 2011), Dokumentation 100 Jahre Hochöfen an der Weser (PDF) (in German)
- Topf, Erwin (20 May 1960), "Die Hütte an der Weser", www.zeit.de (in German)
- Knief, Alexandra (28 January 2016), "Die Geschichte der Bremer Stahlproduktion", www.weser-kurier.de (in German)
- Stahl, 1969, vol. 34, pp. 94
- "Klockner and Rautaruukki", Bulletin of the European Communities, vol. 24 (1–6): pp. 16, 1991
- "The Commission authorises the Creation by Kloeckner Stahl, Aegaeis Stahlhandel and Rautaruukki (Germany) of a joint venture, BREGAL GMBH", europa.eu, May 7, 1991
- "Commission Initiates Proceedings in Respect of Aid to Kloeckner", europa.eu, Jan. 26, 1994
- "Commission Decides that Proceedings Against Kloeckner Stahl GMBH Are to Be Terminated", europa.eu, 27 July 1994
- "Commission Approves Purchase of Additional Shares vy Sidmar NV in Kloecknerstahl GMBH", europa.eu, 10 January 1995
- "Commission Accepts Promise to Close ARBED Rolling Mill in Place of Earlier Closure Commitment by Klöckner Stahl", europa.eu, 27 July 1994
- "Unsere Geschichte", bremen.arcelormittal.com, Retrieved on: April 7, 2016
- ArcelorMittal Europe to produce ’green steel’ starting in 2020, ArcelorMittal, Oct. 13, 2020
- About, ArcelorMittal, Retrieved on: Mar. 6, 2020
- ArcelorMittal Bremen, ArcelorMittal, Retrieved on: Mar. 6, 2020
- 2015 Minerals Yearbook Germany, USGS, August 2019
- Fact Book 2019, ArcelorMittal, 2020
- Fact Book 2018, ArcelorMittal, 2018
- Sustainability, ArcelorMittal, Retrieved on: May 11, 2020
- Company Webiste
- Wikipedia page
- Arcelor Stahlwerke Bremen - Stahl Seite (German steel history website)
- The Mineral Industry of Belgium and Luxembourg - USGS International Minerals Statistics and Information, 1994, pp. 86-87