Salzgitter Flachstahl, a German steel manufacturer and a subsidiary of Salzgitter, and renewable energy company Zelestra have signed a hybrid solar-plus-battery storage power purchase agreement (PPA) in Germany.
The long-term contract supplies green electricity for low-carbon steel production, supported by two new hybrid facilities that together provide 147MW of solar capacity and 79MW/237MW-hours (MWh) of battery storage.
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The two plants, to be located in Brandenburg and Thuringia, will be constructed, owned and operated by Zelestra.
Salzgitter Flachstahl will acquire the solar electricity generated, amounting to 158GW-hours annually, and will also control the operation of the battery storage systems.
The batteries will be charged solely from surplus solar generation, ensuring the electricity supplied is entirely renewable.
This deal marks the first hybrid solar-plus-storage PPA in Germany for both companies and will see Salzgitter Flachstahl controlling a battery storage system for the first time.
The agreement supports the company’s goal of sourcing more renewable electricity and improving flexibility in power use, helping align consumption more closely with available supply.
Salzgitter Flachstahl group energy procurement head Marco Hauer said: “The combination of solar energy and battery storage opens up the opportunity for us to procure renewable energy for our industrial processes in line with demand and at competitive conditions.
“The agreement supports our ambitious decarbonisation of steel production and helps to secure the competitiveness of the Salzgitter site. We are pleased to have Zelestra at our side, a proficient and experienced business partner who is successfully putting innovative and CO₂-free energy solutions into practice.”
Both parties have highlighted the role of such hybrid contracts in meeting rising demand for green electricity as part of the transition in steel production, particularly under the SALCOS transformation framework.
Zelestra noted that this contract reflects its ongoing expansion in Germany, where it is progressing with more than 2GW of renewable projects across solar, hybrid, wind and storage sectors.
Zelestra Germany CEO Mathias Künick said: “This is an innovative agreement between two forward-thinking companies with a shared focus on decarbonisation.
“As the largest hybrid deal in Germany to date, it shows real ambition from both parties, and we expect this segment of the market to grow considerably in the months ahead.”
In April 2026, Zelestra and EDP signed the first PPA in Spain to hybridise an existing solar plant with battery storage.
