HKM has shut down its old coke oven battery as part of its transition to ‘green’ steel
The company’s transformation involves the commissioning of a 2 million metric tonnes electric arc furnace from 2029
The German steel producer Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM), which is now a subsidiary of Salzgitter, has announced the decommissioning of coke oven battery No. 2 at its plant in Duisburg. This was reported by SteelOrbis.
The shutdown, which took place on 16 September 2026, forms part of the company’s strategy to transition to climate-neutral production.
Coke battery No. 2 was commissioned in 1984. Its annual capacity was approximately 1.1 million tonnes of coke. Over the course of 42 years, the facility supplied raw materials to HKM’s blast furnaces, producing nearly 45 million tonnes of coke over its entire service life, which significantly exceeded the originally estimated operational lifespan.
The shutdown of the equipment will take place gradually and will involve emptying the furnaces, purging the gas from the pipelines and mothballing the plant. Meanwhile, Battery No. 1 will continue to operate to meet current production requirements.
HKM’s transformation involves the commissioning of an electric arc furnace (EAF) from 2029, which will enable greater use of scrap and electricity, whilst reducing the need for coke and pig iron. The company noted that the decommissioning of the battery is part of a wider restructuring of the production complex in Duisburg.
As reported by GMK Center, in July HKM signed a contract with the Italian company Tenova for the design, supply and installation of an EAF in Duisburg, as well as the necessary technical equipment. The facility will be the largest EAF in the country and the second largest in the EU. The planned production capacity is approximately 2 million tonnes. The project’s implementation phase began in August 2026, with completion of the electric arc furnace scheduled for 2029.
The project will receive €200 million in funding from the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the ‘Federal Funding for Industry and Climate Action’ programme.
