Primetals Technologies has reached a major milestone in the electric arc furnace project for voestalpine’s steelmaking site in Linz, Austria, with the delivery of key equipment to the site. The equipment transported by ship includes transformers weighing about 160 tonnes each and the electric arc furnace shell.
voestalpine awarded Primetals Technologies the contract in January 2024 to supply and implement an EAF Ultimate electric arc furnace at the Linz site. Civil and construction work began in late 2024 and is progressing according to schedule. The project forms part of voestalpine’s greentec steel programme, the company’s strategy to reduce carbon emissions from steel production. In the first phase, one electric arc furnace powered by green electricity will be installed at each of voestalpine’s Linz and Donawitz sites. The two furnaces are expected to help voestalpine reduce its CO2 emissions by around 30% by 2029. The company estimates annual savings of almost four million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to nearly 5% of Austria’s national emissions.
Paul Pennerstorfer, Head of Upstream Technologies at Primetals Technologies, said timely project execution and cooperation between partners were important to the transition to green steel. “voestalpine’s EAF Ultimate is no exception—the project is progressing as planned, marking important milestones along the way. Most importantly, staying on track means voestalpine is moving closer each day to realizing its vision of decarbonized steel production,” he said.
The EAF Ultimate at Linz will be powered by green electricity and is designed to produce around 1.6 million tonnes of steel annually. The furnace is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2027. Primetals Technologies is supplying the complete EAF Ultimate equipment along with a dedusting system, waste-heat recovery system, power supply equipment and material handling systems for alloying materials and additives.
The project also includes Level 1 and Level 2 automation, as well as a power supply system equipped with a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) for grid stabilisation. Primetals Technologies is also supplying the LiquiRob robotic system and other automation technologies to support production efficiency and workplace safety.
The Level 2 automation system will provide advanced process control and enable precise calculation of the plant’s carbon footprint. The Linz project is a key part of voestalpine’s transition from conventional steelmaking processes to electric arc furnace technology. The use of green electricity is expected to reduce the carbon intensity of steel production while maintaining production capacity and quality requirements. The greentec steel programme is being implemented in phases, with the Linz and Donawitz EAF projects forming the first stage of voestalpine’s wider decarbonisation strategy.
