Energy prices and green transformation in focus: NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst visits BENTELER

Paderborn / Dinslaken, January 9, 2025. Industry, especially in the steel sector, is facing a monumental challenge: the green transformation. Today, the management of BENTELER Steel/Tube discussed the industrial policy framework needed for this transformation with Hendrik Wüst. The Minister President and State Chairman of the CDU party in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) visited the BENTELER site in Dinslaken. The dialogue, which also included Kerstin Maria Rippel, Director General of the German Steel Association, focused on energy costs and energy generation. The politicians’ and company’s shared goal: Germany as a competitive business location with secure jobs. 

Tobias Braun, CFO of the BENTELER Group emphasized: “The green transformation of the steel industry is essential in the fight against global warming. At the same time, however, it represents an enormous upheaval for energy-intensive companies. Many steel manufacturers have a long road ahead of them with high investments, including our BENTELER Steel/Tube Division. To pursue our ambitious sustainability goals, we therefore need planning security, which includes competitive energy prices, particularly in Germany. We were particularly pleased to welcome NRW Minister President Hendrik Wüst here today and to discuss this.”

Access to renewable energies at competitive prices 

On its path to sustainable tube production, BENTELER Steel/Tube plans to achieve complete CO₂ neutrality by 2045. Moreover, the company already supports its customers in achieving their climate targets with its products. 

Ralph Mathis, Managing Director of BENTELER Steel/Tube explained: “With our CliMore^® brand, we offer our customers CO₂-reduced steels and steel tube products. By producing steel in an electric arc furnace and using recycled steel scrap and 100% green electricity, we reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 85% compared to conventional blast furnace steel. Nevertheless, production is particularly energy-intensive, making competitive energy prices all the more relevant.” 

Thomas Michels, Managing Director of BENTELER Steel/Tube added: “We are currently facing massive challenges: The sharp rise in energy costs compared to European and non-European competitors and, in particular, the doubling of electricity transmission grid fees since the start of 2024 are of great concern to us. These factors jeopardize our competitiveness in the medium term. We urgently need relief on electricity costs. Access to renewable energies in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices is essential for us and many other energy-intensive companies.” 

This is illustrated by an example from the North Rhine-Westphalia region: At the Paderborn, Schloss Neuhaus and Dinslaken sites alone, BENTELER Steel/Tube consumes 460 gigawatt hours of gas per year for forming and heat treating steel and steel tubes. This is equivalent to the annual gas consumption of 30,000 four-person households.

BENTELER Steel/Tube employs approximately 3,000 people across four locations in Germany, three of which are in North Rhine-Westphalia.