BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz has committed himself to sustainable steel production in the debate on the future of the German steel industry. "I am a proponent of renewable energy and the use of hydrogen - and thus also of green steel production," the CDU politician told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe. "I believe in hydrogen technology."

However, he said, we have to set realistic goals and keep an eye on realistic timetables. "Unfortunately, we don't yet have the green hydrogen we need at competitive prices, nor do we have the production options for steel that can be operated with hydrogen." Accordingly, the path to green steel must be designed in such a way that steel production does not suffer. "Our most important goal must be to maintain steel production in Germany," Merz emphasized.

Merz had doubts about hydrogen

The CDU leader had drawn criticism on Monday with statements about the "green" future of the German steel industry. At a conference of the CDU's employee wing CDA in Bochum, he said: "Personally, I don't believe that the rapid switch to hydrogen-powered steelworks will be successful. Where should the hydrogen come from? We don't have it. And if we do it with hydrogen, then a ton of steel will still be at least 300 euros more expensive than if it is produced conventionally."

In response to Merz's statements, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that German steel production faces a bleak future if its conversion to "green steel" is left without state support. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and the IG Metall labor union had accused Merz of implying that German steel production would come to an end and that tens of thousands of jobs would be lost as a result.

Merz has now rejected this. He said that the interests of steelworkers in Germany were "in better hands than anywhere else. We don't shut down anything until we have something better." This would secure jobs in the Ruhr area and in the steel and metal industry as a whole, he said. "In saying this, I am also referring to the defense industry here, which urgently requires steel from Germany," said Merz.