PR93056

GRAZ, Austria, Nov. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Generation from solar and biogas sources. First supply contracts signed with

Wolfram (Sandvik Group). Savings of over 5,000 tons of CO2 annually. New

Corporate Partnership with an Investment of 10 Million Euros.

The decision has been made: Energie Steiermark is constructing Austria's first

off-site "green" hydrogen production facility in Gabersdorf, southern Styria.

The company is investing around 10 million euros in the construction of an

innovative generation plant covering an area of 10,000 square metres. The plant

will combine a large-scale photovoltaic system comprising 6,000 square metres

of solar collectors with resources from an existing biogas plant.

"This is an additional step in our comprehensive sustainability strategy.

Construction will start in spring 2022, and completion is planned for the end

of the year," according to Chief Executives Christian Purrer and Martin Graf.

The aim is to produce up to 300 tons of green hydrogen per year, which would

enable a hydrogen-powered car to cover over 40 million kilometres. The project

will save up to 5,200 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

There is great interest in green hydrogen. A first supply contract has now been

signed with Wolfram Bergbau & Hutten AG (Sandvik Group). The industrial company

based in St. Martin has secured 840,000 cubic metres of hydrogen (around 70

tons) annually in order to make its production even more sustainable from

October 2022.

"The contract with Energie Steiermark enables us to get started with "green

hydrogen" and to strengthen our sustainability strategy. The proximity of our

own facility in St. Martin im Sulmtal to the hydrogen production plant

represents an additional contribution to supplying our state-of-the-art

metallurgy plants from within the region," say Andreas Bock and Alex Nieuwpoort.

"This new production facility and the accompanying research project send a

clear signal across Europe in terms of the energy transition. At the same time,

the cooperation with the Climate and Energy Fund will enable us to further

expand our green partnership with industry," Purrer and Graf continue.

About Energie Steiermark AG

As one of the largest service providers in Austria, Energie Steiermark focuses

on energy efficiency and innovative services in the fields of electricity,

natural gas, heat and mobility. Over 1,880 employees bring their experience and

skills into a fair partnership with around 600,000 customers at home and

abroad. In terms of generation, Energie Steiermark AG focuses exclusively on

renewable energy from water, wind, sun and biomass. The state of Styria is the

majority shareholder. Energie Steiermark achieved sales of 1.58 billion euro in

2020.

About Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG

Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG is a leading global supplier of high-quality

powders based on the metal tungsten. The company mines scheelite ore at its

location in Mittersill. Recycling of secondary raw materials has been greatly

expanded at the St. Martin im Sulmtal site in order to conserve natural

resources and recycle the valuable raw material.

The project "Renewable Gasfield" is jointly managed by Energie Steiermark and

their partners Energienetze Steiermark GmbH, The University of Leoben, HyCentA

Research GmbH, Energie Agentur Steiermark GmbH, Energy Institute at the

Johannes Kepler University Linz, WIVA P&G and the Office of the Styrian

Provincial Government, A15 - Department for Energy and Housing. The project is

sponsored by the Climate and Energy Fund, the Austrian Research Promotion

Agency (FFG) and Kommunal Kredit Public Consulting. Renewable Gasfield is part

of the Austria-wide flagship region "WIVA P&G".

- Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

Inquiries:

Mag. (FH) Urs Harnik-Lauris

Head of Corporate Communications

Energie Steiermark AG

Leonhardgurtel 10, A-8010 Graz, Austria

Tel.: +43-316-9000-5926

Mobile: +43-664-1801780

Email: urs.harnik-lauris@e-steiermark.com

Homepage: www.e-steiermark.com

Source: Energie Steiermark AG