RWE Supply & Trading and Salzgitter Group have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) of up to 64 gigawatt hours per year from a 180MW solar farm.
The contract runs for seven years and begins in 2027.
The electricity will come from the 180MW Boitzenburger Land solar farm in Brandenburg, Germany.
The 170-hectare site is one of the largest solar plants in Germany.
The facility has been in operation since autumn 2023 and is jointly owned by Solarenergie Boitzenburger Land, GP Joule Group and Mainova.
Due to direct marketing via PPAs, the solar park does not require a feed-in tariff under the Renewable Energy Sources Act.
Salzgitter is gradually converting its steel production to electricity- and hydrogen-based processes from 2026 onwards.
“We are pleased to be able to support our long-standing customer Salzgitter in realising its sustainability strategy,” said head of commodity solutions Germany & Benelux at RWE Supply & Trading David Egyptien.
He added: “The demand for CO2-free electricity supplies from renewable sources is growing strongly.
“With our energy solutions, we want to advance climate protection in all areas of the economy.”
Head of group energy procurement at Salzgitter Flachstahl Marco Hauer said: “Conventional steel production currently still releases large quantities of greenhouse gases.
“For this reason, we are pushing ahead with the conversion to an almost CO2-free steel production process on a large scale.
“We are serious about green energy sources.
“By 2025, half of our electricity needs are to come from non-fossil sources, and by 2030 we want to obtain 100% green electricity.”