German Steel Industry Research Articles

Identifying the social hotspots of German steelmaking and its value chain

Steel production is highly material and energy intensive. As the industry sources large amounts of raw materials globally, the need to assess the sustainability dimensions of the steelmaking process and its value chain is increasing. This paper sets out to investigate the social dimension, by identifying social hotspots tied to the value chain and production of primary steel in Germany. To achieve this, a literature review is conducted, and the Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology is applied in the form of a social hotspot assessment for the production of 1 t of hot rolled steel coil. Import data for the German steel industry are combined with social data from the social hotspot database, to gain an comprehensive overview of social risks and hotspots tied to the value chain and production of steel. The literature review finds the application of S-LCA in the steel industry to be low overall, with great variety in impact subcategories and indicators assessed. The social hotspot assessment shows a high number of social risks tied to the value chain of the German steel industry. These relate primarily to worker health and safety, delocalization and migration, access to immaterial resources, forced labour, and social benefits/social security. In particular, the extractive industries of iron ore and coal are established as social hotspots. Based on the findings of the literature review and the social hotspot assessment, it is recommended that the following impact subcategories be considered in a full scale S-LCA study on steelmaking including the value chain: Worker health and safety, freedom of association and collective bargaining, delocalization and migration, and forced labour. Furthermore, it is recommended to prioritize the collection of primary data on 16 indicators, that are identified as high risk or very high risk across multiple assessed countries and sectors.

Tools and Frameworks for Sustainable Business Model Innovation for German Steel, Cement, and Chemical Industries

In the decarbonization of the steel, cement, and chemical industries in Germany, green hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role. The utilization of green hydrogen in the production processes of said industries requires organizations to modify their business model, requiring sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). Numerous tools and frameworks that support organizations in the process of SBMI have been proposed in the literature in recent years. However, the applicability of these tools and frameworks for steel, cement, and chemical companies that intend to utilize green hydrogen to produce their goods remains unexplored. This paper aims to assess the suitability of SBMI tools and frameworks for steel, cement, and chemical companies planning to use green hydrogen in their production. It conducts a systematic literature review on SBMI tools and frameworks, reviews current green hydrogen projects in these industries, and evaluates the identified tools and frameworks using an evaluation matrix. Based on the evaluation, the Cambridge Business Model Innovation Process (CBMIP) was identified as the most suitable SBMI framework.

Import Dependence and Strategic War Planning – The German Iron and Steel Industry, 1933–1945

In this paper I analyse the import dependence of the German steel industry between 1933 and 1945 and its strategic implications. After the First World War, the steel industry was faced with the loss of iron ore deposits in Lorraine. Steel producers replaced these ores by increasing imports. The industry was also dependent on imported alloying metals such as nickel and chromium. Taken together, this reliance on imports made the industry strategically vulnerable. Army officers drew up plans to expand domestic mining to build up strategic reserves. However, as most German ore deposits were of poor quality, private steel companies did not increase production significantly. The Nazi government forced the expansion of domestic mining to ensure supplies in the event of a blockade. This policy led to the creation of the Reichswerke ‘Hermann Göring’. In the early years of the Second World War, domestic iron ore was successfully used when imports temporarily declined. After the occupation of France, the industry was again able to rely on ores from Lorraine, so that iron ore was no longer a limiting factor. Non-ferrous metals remained scarce, but the industry was able to use substitutes so that steel production was not significantly affected.

Defending the “Peace of Sunday”: The Debate over Sunday Labor in the West German Steel Industry after the Second World War – ERRATUM

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Defending the “Peace of Sunday”: The Debate over Sunday Labor in the West German Steel Industry after the Second World War

AbstractWorking hours were largely unregulated in nineteenth-century Germany, but a powerful alliance emerged in the 1890s between the Christian churches and the socialist labor movement to prohibit most industrial labor on Sunday, including most production of steel. In the 1950s steel management persuaded organized labor that it would be advantageous to produce steel continuously throughout the week, the prevalent system in other countries. The Evangelical Church retreated in this debate, but the Catholic Church waged a fierce and partly successful campaign from 1952 to 1961 to defend the old prohibition. Until the 1980s organized labor continued to cooperate with both major churches to keep Sunday industrial labor quite rare. Their influence declined suddenly after national reunification in 1990, however, and many Germans have come to prize individual freedom above the old principle, honored by Christians and the unchurched alike, that most people should have the same day of rest.

Musculoskeletal disorders and level of physical activity in welders.

Welders demonstrate a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), as indicated by high rates of illness-related absenteeism. Leisure time physical activity (LTPA) could be a preventive strategy. However, little is known about LTPA prevalence and its association with MSDs among welders. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of MSD and LTPA levels among welders and to identify risk factors for the main disorder of low back pain (LBP). The following data were collected from 145 welders from 34 companies in the German steel industry: individual factors (demographics, health behaviour), job-related factors (welding process, welding hours per day, employment years, shift work, ergonomic tools) and MSD (Nordic questionnaire). LTPA (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) was calculated to determine the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) per week as an objective measure of energy expenditure. Prevalence and multivariate regression analysis were calculated to determine odds ratios (ORs). The 12-month prevalence of LBP was 71%, for neck pain 61% and for shoulder pain 55%. Forty-two per cent of the participants accumulated <600 MET/week. The multivariate regression model revealed LTPA <600 MET/week (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.05-10.85) and neck pain in the previous 12 months (OR 5.2, 95% CI 2.02-13.56) to be significantly associated with LBP. The results show a high prevalence of MSDs and thus a strong requirement for intervention. Therefore, LTPA should be prioritized and employers should encourage access to regular activity.

Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany by Mark Roseman

Reviewed by: Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany by Mark Roseman Gerald J. Steinacher Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany. By Mark Roseman. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2019. 332 pages. $30.00 (cloth). What are the possibilities and limits of a group of decent, idealistic people when their democratic society is overtaken by a totalitarian dictatorship? How can they remain true to themselves and others under such new and extreme circumstances? These questions are at the core of Mark Roseman's new thought-provoking book, Lives Reclaimed: A Story of Rescue and Resistance in Nazi Germany. This is the story of a remarkable German group with about 200 members called the Bund (the league). They shared a left-leaning philosophy that promoted life in community, caring for others, a passion for nature, hiking and gymnastics, and a strong belief in the ultimate progress of history towards a better human society. Trapped in Nazi Germany, the group members assisted each other during the hardships of war and persecution but also showed empathy and support for others outside the group. Ultimately, their ideals made them risk their own lives to save the lives of others. The questions of how and why they did this are at the center of Roseman's book. The Bund's origins go back to the immediate aftermath of World War I and the first German democracy with its hopes for a [End Page 391] better future. Artur Jacobs was one of many who shared the optimism and vision for a different society. In his late 30s, this high school teacher believed in the power of education to fight nationalism and warmongering and to bring about social justice and international understanding. An outspoken advocate for education reform, Jacobs soon joined a group of similarly-minded educators. In 1924, their organization officially came into being: Bund—A Community for Socialist Life. During the years of the Weimar Republic, the group flourished, experimenting with new ways of living. Some elements of the Bund were reminiscent of sects, advocating limits to personal freedom and private life in a number of ways. For example, the group intervened in marriage decisions. Like the later communes of the 1960s, Bund idealists rejected many "bourgeois conventions" and embraced liberal body culture; however, "free love" was not on the agenda. As Roseman points out, in the late 1920s the group was more like a socialist-inspired secular version of a monkish order, with a strong focus on physical exercise and working out in nature, than a political group. But unlike some orders, the Bund did not retreat from the world. On the contrary, it hoped to actively shape and contribute to a better future. The majority of its members were women, most of them living in the Ruhr region, which at the time was the heartland of the German steel and coal energy industries. Companies like Krupp, Thyssen, and Mannesmann maintained their headquarters there. A significant minority of the group were of Jewish background or had, like the Bund leader Artur Jacobs, a Jewish spouse. During the Nazi years of brutal persecution, this would turn out to be a significant test for this group of idealists. When Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January 1933, the Nazis gradually dismantled what was left of the Weimar democracy and the constitution became an empty shell. The anti-Nazi opposition from socialist and Christian forces was soon crippled. The Bund too was weakened, and the active membership shrank to perhaps just below 100. Despite all this, the inner core did not give in, kept together, and stayed faithful to their beliefs. [End Page 392] To this day, the Bund stands out as one of the few oppositional groups never discovered and dismantled by the Gestapo. This was due undoubtedly to luck and also related to the group's nature. The majority of its members were female, and the Nazis minimized the threat posed to their regime by women. The group also did not engage in traditional resistance activities such as producing leaflets, publishing underground newspapers, painting protest messages on walls and sidewalks, and committing sabotage acts or assassinations. For...

Commercial expansion in the steel industry of World War II: The case of Henry J. Kaiser and Friedrich Flick

Research on the history of the steel industry in Nazi Germany saw an unprecedented boom in the 2000s, focusing on key players like Vereinigte Stahlwerke, Krupp, Gutehoffnungshütte and Friedrich Flick. However, the topic remains controversial and researchers are still debating the scope of corporate freedom of action available to German wartime steel producers. On the one hand, numerous constraints existed under the Nazi dictatorship so that, especially during the war and particularly in occupied Europe, manufacturers had significantly less room to manoeuvre and their options continuously decreased throughout the course of the armed conflict. On the other hand, a variety of recent studies have demonstrated that the Nazi regime did not launch a widespread attack on property rights or freedom of contract and imposed less coercion and force upon business than is widely assumed. This article makes two points: First, by comparing and contrasting government regulation and the growth models of big business, it argues that there were significant similarities on both sides of the Atlantic, citing examples from the German and American steel industries. Second, by taking a closer look at labour shortages as a crucial bottleneck, it demonstrates that such a comparison needs to determine the fundamental difference between a democracy and a dictatorship at war and advocates a view that incorporates economic logic of action and its historical context.

ヨーロッパ石炭鉄鋼共同体成立過程と西ドイツ鉄鋼業界 : カルテル・企業集中問題を中心に

ヨーロッパ石炭鉄鋼共同体成立過程と西ドイツ鉄鋼業界 : カルテル・企業集中問題を中心に

Political Conditions for Sustainable Innovations

The European and German steel industry is currently facing multiple challenges, politically, economically, and technologically. Despite a solid economic development over the last months, structural problems on global markets persist. They are rooted in Chinese over-capacities flooding international markets. Many regions like the US are examining reactions to defend their industries, which leads to even more distortions. European steel companies are suffering from this, both on the import and on export side. Steel industry and partners in the value chain in Europe need political support on the issue of free and fair trade. The second challenge is the non-existing level playing field in international climate policy. While, for example, the US are dropping out of the Paris Agreement, the EU is unilaterally sharpening its climate policy tools. If the current plans on the future design of European Emissions Trading become reality, also best-performing European steel sites will be suffering from this and lose ground in international competition, although they are at the forefront regarding R&D in emission reduction. But projects need time and money to be developed. Together with new possibilities through digitization and through close integration into value creation networks, there are many opportunities for innovative companies. But to play out these advantages companies need a political framework of incentives rather than of regulation.

Robert Schuman: Architect of the European Union

One of the founding fathers of the European Union, Robert Schuman embodies the most genuine spirit of European reconciliation. Visionary and realist, he brought to French diplomacy a new aim, a new dynamism, a new aspiration. Working in collaboration with West Germany, especially with its post-war chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967), and drawing on the creative work of French political economist Jean Monnet (1888-1979), Schuman was the leading advocate for and public author of the plan for the European Coal and Steel Community, which pooled French and German coal and steel industries and anticipated the European Union.

Power-to-Steel: Reducing CO2 through the Integration of Renewable Energy and Hydrogen into the German Steel Industry

This paper analyses some possible means by which renewable power could be integrated into the steel manufacturing process, with techniques such as blast furnace gas recirculation (BF-GR), furnaces that utilize carbon capture, a higher share of electrical arc furnaces (EAFs) and the use of direct reduced iron with hydrogen as reduction agent (H-DR). It is demonstrated that these processes could lead to less dependence on—and ultimately complete independence from—coal. This opens the possibility of providing the steel industry with power and heat by coupling to renewable power generation (sector coupling). In this context, it is shown using the example of Germany that with these technologies, reductions of 47–95% of CO2 emissions against 1990 levels and 27–95% of primary energy demand against 2008 can be achieved through the integration of 12–274 TWh of renewable electrical power into the steel industry. Thereby, a substantial contribution to reducing CO2 emissions and fuel demand could be made (although it would fall short of realizing the German government’s target of a 50% reduction in power consumption by 2050).

The Schuman Plan and the West German Steel Industry:

The Schuman Plan and the West German Steel Industry:

Drivers and barriers to the diffusion of energy-efficient technologies—a plant-level analysis of the German steel industry

The paper aims at explaining why large-scale energy-intensive industries—here the German iron and steel industry—had a period of slow uptake of major energy-efficient technologies from the mid 1990s to mid 2000s (Arens and Worrell, 2014) and why from the mid 2000s onwards these technologies are increasingly implemented again. We analyze the underlying factors and investment/innovation behavior of individual firms in the German iron and steel industry to better understand barriers and drivers for technological change. The paper gives insights on the decision-making process on energy efficiency in firms and helps to understand how policy affects decision-making. We use a mixed method approach. First, we analyze the diffusion of three energy-efficient technologies (EET) for primary steelmaking from their introduction until today (top-pressure recovery turbine (TRT), basic oxygen furnace gas recovery (BOFGR), and pulverized coal injection (PCI)). We derive the uptake of these technologies both at the national level and at the level of the individual firm. Second, we analyze the impact of drivers and barriers on the decision-making process of individual firms whether or not they want to implement these technologies. Economics and access to capital are the foremost barriers to the uptake of an EET. If the expected payback period exceeds a certain value or if the company lacks capital, investments in EET seem not to happen. But even if an EET is economically viable and the company has access to capital, investments in EET might not be realized. Policy-induced prices might have strengthened the recent diffusion of TRT. We found indications that in a limited number of cases, policy intervention was a driving factor. Technical risks and imperfect information are only marginal factors in our cases. Site-specific factors seem to be important, as site-specific factors shape the economics of the selected EET.

Pathways to a low-carbon iron and steel industry in the medium-term – the case of Germany

The iron and steel industry is a major industrial emitter of carbon dioxide globally and in Germany. If European and German climate targets were set as equal proportional reduction targets (referred to here as “flat” targets) among sectors, the German steel industry would have to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions from about 60 million metric tons currently to 28–34 million metric tons by 2030. Technical options to further reduce CO2 that are based on existing production processes are limited. Hence, in the future, the CO2 emissions of the steel industry could be reduced by alternative and new production processes and variations in production levels. This paper describes four production pathways from 2015 to 2035 that reveal the impact of constant, increasing and decreasing production levels as well as different production processes. The diffusion of energy-efficient technologies, the increase of renewables in the German electricity mix and the age and lifetime of blast furnaces are considered as well. The findings suggest that the German steel sector will only manage to achieve its European CO2 emissions reduction target for 2030 if it strongly decreases its production levels. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that the German steel sector will meet its German climate target regardless of the production pathway selected. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry should focus on two areas. First, alternative steelmaking processes need to be developed. Besides low-CO2 process technologies, CO2-free processes should be considered as well. Direct reduced iron could be produced based on hydrogen and then fed into an electric arc furnace powered by electricity generated using CO2-free sources. Steel could also be produced using electrolysis based on CO2-free electricity. However, because these technologies might take decades to develop and introduce, there should be a second focus on incremental CO2 reductions in the short to medium term.

Diffusion of energy efficient technologies in the German steel industry and their impact on energy consumption

We try to understand the role of technological change and diffusion of energy efficient technologies in order to explain the trend of energy intensity developments in the German steel industry. We selected six key energy efficient technologies and collected data to derive their diffusion since their introduction in Germany. Since all technologies have been applied in Germany for more than 30 years we would expect complete diffusion. We found complete diffusion only for basic oxygen furnaces and continuous casting. Newer technologies (i.e. basic oxygen furnace gas recovery, top pressure recovery turbine, coke dry quenching and pulverized coal injection) diffused quicker in the initial phase but then diffusion slowed down. Key improvements in energy efficiency are due to electric arc furnaces (24%), basic oxygen furnaces (12%), and continuous casting (6%) between 1958 and 2012. The contribution of top pressure recovery turbines, pulverized coal injection and basic oxygen furnaces gas recovery accounts in total of about 3%. If the selected technologies were diffused completely, the future energy consumption could be reduced by 4.5% compared to 2012. Our findings suggest that our selection of six technologies is the key driver for energy intensity developments within the German steel industry between 1958 and 2012.

Business as a Means of Foreign Policy or Politics as a Means of Production? The German Government and the Creation of Friedrich Flick’s Upper Silesian Industrial Empire (1921–1935)

In the 1920s, the German government secretly supported private business activities across the German-Polish border due to revisionist political aims. Based on these aims, the (in-) famous industrialist Friedrich Flick was able to attract financial support for otherwise uneconomical activities in Upper Silesia to which the government provided “insurance.” Not even considering the possibility of moral hazard and holdup, the German government was captured in its secret cooperation with Flick, who could effectively exploit this “insurance.” Until 1931, Flick was able to gain high subsidies and to use them efficiently building up an industrial empire that comprehended the German, Polish, and Austrian iron and steel industry. The interplay of German foreign policy and private business activities in the inter-war years is analyzed as an agency problem in a specific “public-private partnership” that allowed for blackmailing the Government.

A Material Flow‐based Approach to Enhance Resource Efficiency in Production and Recycling Networks

SummaryResource and energy efficiency are key strategies for production and recycling networks. They can contribute to more sustainable industrial production and can help cope with challenges such as competition, rising resource and energy prices, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and scarce and expensive landfill space. In pursuit of these objectives, further enhancements of single processes are often technologically sophisticated and expensive due to past achievements that have brought the processes closer to technical optima. Nevertheless, the potential for network‐wide advancements may exist. Methods are required to identify and assess the potential for promising resource and energy efficiency measures from technical, economic, and ecological perspectives. This article presents an approach for a material flow‐based techno‐economic as well as ecological analysis and assessment of resource efficiency measures in production and recycling networks. Based on thermodynamic process models of different production and recycling processes, a material and energy flow model of interlinked production and recycling processes on the level of chemical compounds is developed. The model can be used to improve network‐wide resource efficiency by analyzing and assessing measures in scenario and sensitivity analyses. A necessary condition for overcoming technical and economic barriers for implementing such measures can be fulfilled by identifying strategies that appear technologically feasible and economically and ecologically favorable. An exemplary application to a production and recycling network of the German steel and zinc industry is presented. From a methodological point of view, the approach shows one way of introducing thermodynamics and further technological aspects into industrial planning and assessment.

Der „Napoleon des deutschen Aktienmarktes“ Hermann D. Krages und die Netzwerke des „rheinischen Kapitalismus“: Die Geschichte einer scheiternden Karriere

Abstract Taking as an example the career of the medium-sized entrepreneur Hermann D. Krages, who was attracting wide public attention by spectacular stock market transactions in the West German coal and steel industry during the 1950s and soon became a predominantly yield oriented financial investor, this paper discusses, why an economically successful outsider like Krages was not able to establish himself as a respected member of the business elites’ networks within Rhenish Capitalism. For this purpose, the analysis focuses on a heavy conflict between Hermann Krages and Dresdner Bank AG between 1962 and 1966. As the article shows, Krages can be interpreted as an early, extremely stubborn and at the same time completely inopportune pioneer of shareholder value thinking. His initially so promising career finally failed, because his mentality and his business strategies, based on credit financed stockmarket speculations, did not at all correspond to the notion of steady and responsible business of the overwhelming majority of his contemporaries.

Steel research int. 8/2010

Cover Photo: Roll‐off container made of high‐strength and wear‐resistant steel sheets; this new light‐weight construction enables weight reduction by 45% compared to conventional steel. 2009 Steel Innovation Prize by the German Steel Industry Association. Copy by courtesy of Sirch GmbH &amp; Co. KG, Kaufbeuren, and Stahl‐Informations‐Zentrum, Düsseldorf.