19/12/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 19 December, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a €2.6 billion German scheme to help SHS Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co KgaA to partially decarbonise its steel production processes in Völklingen and Dillingen, in the federal state of Saarland. The company operates two blast furnaces and five converters producing crude steel. The aid, provided in the form of a direct grant, will be used to replace them with a direct reduction plant and two new electric arc furnaces, which should eventually run on hydrogen. SHS will select renewable hydrogen suppliers through a competitive process. The measure has been assessed in particular in the light of the guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy 2022 and Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. (EV)