Green hydrogen will be used for steel production.
Anglo-australian group Rio Tinto and Swedish company H2 Green Steel have signed an agreement to help decarbonize the iron and steel industry. According to a press release, Rio Tinto will supply iron ore pellets sourced from the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) plant to H2 Green Steel over several years, which will be used to produce sustainable steel.
The direct reduction pellets from the IOC plant will be used in a plant built in the Swedish city of Boden, which is expected to become operational in 2025. It is planned to process these direct reduction pellets into surplus low-carbon iron briquettes. This product will then be used to produce steel in electric arc furnaces with green hydrogen added. The sustainable energy carrier will be produced on-site, with plans to build the world’s largest electrolysis plant. According to H2 Green Steel, the plant aims to produce five million tons of green steel annually by 2030. The use of environmentally friendly hydrogen will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95 percent compared to conventional steel production, the press release adds.
With this factory, H2 Green Steel is expected to become one of the first large-scale producers of environmentally friendly steel and iron. Fossil-free steel is already used, for example, by Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo in the construction of trucks (we reported).
Photo: iStock/lyash01
