It is only a few meters long and painted, but “a really cool story”, as ÖBB CEO Andreas Matthä formulates: According to the company, the first hydrogen-based railway rail of the Voestalpine was laid in Linz on Tuesday. The rather symbolic act was accompanied by a “large train station” at the platform 8 of the main train station. “Every train ride begins with the first meter rail. This trip to a sustainable mobility future has continued to take off today,” Matthä is proud. Voestalpine CEO Herbert Eibensteiner also sees a “historical milestone”. The new rail piece connects the Greentec Steel program of the Voestalpine and the four-track expansion of the western railway line from Vienna to Wels. For the latter, the west exit of the Linz main station, where a piece of “green” rail is now located, is a key point.
Steel from research steel works in Donawitz
The rail consists of a mix of scrap and hydrogen -reduced clean iron. The starting material was melted down in the Voestalpine research steel mill Techmet in Donawitz and then processed into the finished rail in the neighboring rail roller plant. Eibensteiner emphasized that hardness and wear would not differ from rails from conventionally generated steel.
By 2050, the Voestalpine is aiming for CO2-neutral steel production. As part of their level plan for transformation in production, an electric layer of electrical arc steel (Greentec Steel) will be available at the locations Linz and Donawitz from 2027. “The largest climate protection program in Austria” Eibensteiner mentions the project – in view of the proportion of the steel industry in CO2 emissions (approx. 7 percent worldwide), this is probably not exaggerated.
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Image: ÖBB/Scheibecker
Source: Nachrichten
