German steelmaker thyssenkrupp aims to be climate neutral from 2050 onwards, the company says in a statement.

The announced targets take into consideration thyssenkrupp’s own production operations, the energy it purchases, and its products. In steel production, for example, tk is pursuing two approaches to reducing CO₂ emissions (see Kallanish passim). The Carbon2Chem project is expected to be available on an industrial scale before 2030. The so-called hydrogen route, which should take full effect by 2050 and make the biggest contribution to directly avoiding CO₂, will replace coal with “green” hydrogen as the reducing agent for blast furnaces.

As early as 2030, the German group plans to cut emissions from production and outsourced energy by around -30%. The goals are based on the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, tk notes. “As an industrial company with operations around the globe we are in a particularly good position to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable products and processes. We take this responsibility very seriously,” says ceo Guido Kerkhoff.

Other key areas include the e-mobility sector, where thyssenkrupp supplies battery production lines and special steels for electric motors.  The group is also involved in the development of energy storage solutions. These include electrolysis systems that convert electricity into hydrogen, and a technology for the cement industry that allows CO₂ emissions from the combustion processes to be captured for subsequent storage or processing.