Erdemir prioritizes green steel, green energy and environmentalism in its investments within the scope of the Net Zero Emission Map announced in 2024. The company aims to shape the future of the sector while setting the reduction of carbon emissions as its top priority target. In line with this vision, it continues its sustainability-oriented growth by commissioning important investments in 2025.
Net Zero Emission Roadmap: Targets
On January 11, 2024, OYAK General Manager Süleyman Savaş Erdem announced that a transformation investment of USD 3.2 billion will be made for Erdemir and that the company aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Erdemir and İsdemir's green transformation roadmap was determined as follows:
- By 2030, reduce carbon emissions per ton by 25% based on 2022,
- achieve a 40% reduction by 2040,
- and reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The company announced on January 11 that it is also planning solar power plant (SPP) investments with an annual electricity generation capacity of 1.71 million MWh. According to the statement, foreign financing sources, mainly with sustainability conditions, will be used for green steel projects. These projects will serve as a role model for the Turkish iron and steel sector and will increase the company's competitiveness in global markets.
In the Erdemir Investment Report on the production phase, Ünlü & Co. predicts that emission reduction will be supported by direct production of reduced iron DRI using natural gas in order to achieve the Company's 2040 targets and full decarbonization will be achieved by producing green hydrogen-based DRI with CSS technologies for the 2050 target.
2024 Performance and Steps Taken
In 2024, Erdemir invested 1.1 billion dollars in line with the Net Zero Roadmap and broke many new grounds in Türkiye in this area. Having successfully completed the injection of hydrogen into the blast furnace, the company took an important step in reducing carbon emissions. In addition, the company commissioned a pilot Pyrolysis Plant with an annual biochar production capacity of 7,000 tons and began developing alternative fuels to coal.
Within the scope of sustainability investments, solar power plant projects continued in 2024. In 2024, with Erdemir's SPP investment of 775 MW and OYAK Maden Metalurji's SPP investment with a total installed capacity of 2,036 MW, an annual electricity generation of approximately 3.17 million MWh was targeted at 17 different locations in 12 provinces.
New Investments Commissioned in 2025 and Future Plans
Before the second quarter of 2025 was completed, Erdemir commissioned the 4th Coke Battery, which was announced on December 2, 2024. In its statement, it was stated that the Coke Battery No. 4 with a capacity of 800 thousand tons/year was modernized and put into service in order to increase environmental performance, reduce imported coke purchases and increase efficiency.
On the same day, the new 1st Blast Furnace investment, which has an annual production capacity of 2.8 million tons of liquid crude iron, was commissioned. These investments are considered as one of the most important steps on Erdemir's technological transformation path.
Ünlü & Co. listed the steps taken for the Net Zero Emission Roadmap starting from 2024 as follows:
- In addition to the existing 3.9 million tons of BOFs, it is aimed to increase its capacity to 5.3 million tons by integrating 1.4 million tons of EAFs and to achieve a reduction in unit emissions exceeding 25%.
- Projects to increase energy efficiency include the re-piping of Steam Boiler No. 3, capacity upgrades of Turbo Generators No. 1 and No. 2, installation of a new steam turbine for the coke dry quenching process and commissioning of a new air compressor.
- The solar power plants in Van and Malatya are expected to generate approximately 770,000 MWh of electricity.
- The use of biomass is projected to result in a total coal reduction of around 205,091 tons per year, corresponding to an estimated 11.9% emission reduction.
- Natural gas and green hydrogen-based DRI production is targeted.
- Decarbonization is expected to be supported by integrating Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies.
Economic Aspect of Erdemir's Investments in 2025
While Erdemir closed the first quarter of 2025 with a profit of TRY 426.3 million, according to the ISO 500 results for 2024, it exceeded TRY 100 billion in sales from production and rose from 10th to 9th place. Increasing its exports by USD 83.1 million, it climbed from 98th to 57th place in the ISO ranking. In the Capital500 survey, Erdemir won the title of the largest private company in the Turkish iron and steel sector.
According to Ünlü & Co.'s Erdemir investment report, the company's investments are expected to be 825 million dollars in 2025, with investment expenditures increasing every year. Experts say that increasing investment costs may negatively affect the company's free cash flow, but investments are expected to contribute to the long-term development of the company.
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