"With the anticipated strong cash generation of our base business, we expect to grow our dividend, buy back shares and invest in lower carbon businesses," Chief Executive Michael Wirth says
"Those affected need some reliability on the path to climate neutrality," Merkel said. "I don't want to unravel this again after one year."
Climate activists say that without an earlier coal phase-out, the more ambitious climate protection targets which Merkel's government just agreed on cannot be achieved.
Spending on greener products including wind, solar, geothermal and hydrogen power will expand "significantly year on year," Dai said, without giving detail.
He said the next five-to-10 years would be "the window for energy transitions" and the company was working on precise timelines.
State-owned HBIS follows bigger rival China Baowu Steel Group in setting a 2050 carbon neutral goal. Baowu had said in January it aimed to achieve the feat after reaching peak emissions in 2023.
China, the world's largest steel market and biggest polluter, has vowed to reach a peak in national in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral before 2060.