Thyssenkrupp workers urge Berlin to move quickly on steel subsidies

By Tom Käckenhoff

DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Thyssenkrupp has urged Berlin to move quickly to approve hundreds of millions in subsidies for a landmark carbon-neutral steel site, with one of the company's labour bosses saying workers' patience had run out.

The criticism is mainly aimed at Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who visited Thyssenkrupp's steel hub in Duisburg in 2022 and pledged support for the new plant.

Thyssenkrupp cannot cover the more than 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) needed to build the so-called direct reduction plant and associated infrastructure in Duisburg. The factory alone accounts for 1.8 billion euros.

Thyssenkrupp's home state of North Rhine-Westphalia has already pledged 700 million, but the company needs additional help from the federal government.

Tekin Nasikkol, who heads the works council of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, said Habeck, during his visit, promised to provide "whatever it takes" to help Thyssenkrupp decarbonise steel production, one of the most CO2-intense industrial processes.

"Now is the time to make good on this promise. Our patience has run out," said Nasikkol, who also sits on Thyssenkrupp's supervisory board. He told Reuters the subsidy applications had been on Habeck's desk since autumn 2022.

"The funding application must be approved as it was submitted, without cuts," he added. "The longer the delay, the greater the risk that companies will consider leaving," Nasikkol, highlighting the risk to Germany's competitiveness.

Thyssenkrupp's investment share in the site, which will produce 2.5 million metric tonnes a year and save 3.5 million tonnes of CO2, is a high triple-digit million euro amount, Rheinische Post previously reported.

Germany's Economy Ministry, in e-mailed comments, said it continued to support Thyssenkrupp's plans but could not approve the funds without consent from the European Commission, which is still outstanding.

"We are in ongoing and constructive discussions with the European Commission on this," a spokesperson for the ministry said.

Thyssenkrupp rival Salzgitter has managed to secure funds for a similar project, with Berlin adding 700 million euros in funds while the state of Lower Saxony, Salzgitter's top shareholders, contributes 300 million.

($1 = 0.9084 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Markus Wacket. Editing by Jane Merriman)