Honorary doctorate for Ulrich Grethe: pioneer of the future of steel!

Honorary doctorate for Ulrich Grethe: pioneer of the future of steel!

On May 16, 2025, Ulrich Grethe was awarded an honorary doctorate from Clausthal University of Technology. The university president Dr.-Ing. In her speech, Sylvia Schattauer acknowledged Grethe's significant contribution to the collaboration between Salzgitter AG and the university. The 63-year-old Grethe, who lives in Goslar, can look back on over 40 years of close connections to Clausthal University of Technology, starting with his student years in the 1980s.

Grethe began his career as a trainee at Stahlwerke Peine-Salzgitter AG and rose through numerous management positions to become operations manager in the steelworks. He has been a member of the management of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH since 2006 and chairman since 2010. During this time, Grethe was responsible for the strip steel division and for steel production in the group management from 2014. His planned retirement is scheduled for the end of 2024. In his speech, he emphasized the central role of cooperation with universities, especially for the career prospects of young people in the steel industry.

Outstanding projects and awards

An outstanding example of Grethe's commitment was the recognition of a joint project for resource-efficient steel production, which was awarded at the German Future Prize in 2014. Prof. Karl-Heinz Spitzer also mentioned Grethe's family ties to the university during the laudatory speech, which further underlines his close relationship with the university. At the end of the ceremony, Grethe gave a lecture on “Steel, transformation, development – ​​for economic, technical and ecological progress”. The entire event was accompanied musically by the “swingING TUC Jazz Combo”.

A traditional champagne reception concluded with some guests even preparing a mortarboard for him.

Transformation in the steel industry

Salzgitter AG is currently going through a comprehensive transformation process. The subsidiary Salzgitter Flachstahl is considered one of the world's most efficient steel manufacturers. Steel production currently generates around eight million tons of CO2 annually, which is considered unavoidable due to technical circumstances. Given Europe's climate goals, it is crucial to avoid CO2 emissions directly.

In the future, steel production will use renewable hydrogen and temporarily natural gas as a reducing agent. In addition, the electricity for steel production should come from renewable sources. The SALCOS® (Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking) project aims to replace blast furnaces and converters with direct reduction and electric arc furnaces. These measures aim to reduce CO2 emissions per steel plate by over 95%. The carbon avoidance strategy is scheduled to be fully implemented by 2033.

To support this transformation, Salzgitter is working closely with the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering and Energy Systems at Clausthal University of Technology to model energy systems in current and future iron and steel plants. The aim is to investigate how natural gas and electricity consumption can be minimized through optimized use of combined heat and power systems and heating networks.

The steel industry is therefore facing an enormous challenge, which could, however, be accompanied by a global pioneering role for low-CO2 steel. A successful transformation can contribute not only to maintaining but also to expanding the technological leadership of German companies. This requires the committed cooperation of all stakeholders involved in order to be able to react flexibly to challenges.