In a statement, SMS group said it was one of three winners in the groups and medium-sized businesses category of the Economy in Transition award, which highlights efforts to promote structural change in the region’s economy and to transition it to the future. 

“For us, making a contribution to the production and reliable supply of eco-compliant steel is a social-political responsibility. Conventional steel production releases considerable amounts of CO₂. Therefore, we have been channeling our development activities increasingly into the design of eco-friendly and resource-saving plant technologies. Hydrogen plays a pivotal role here. The production of green steel via a hydrogen-supported direct reduction process is one of our key focal areas,” said Hans Ferkel, said SMS group’s chief technology officer.