$6.9B Hydrogen fuel project could slash 95% of steelmaking carbon emissions

The production of this one metal is estimated to generate 9 percent of global carbon emissions

A €6.5 billion ($6.96 billion) hydrogen fuel steelmaking project in northern Sweden has now launched for the purpose of annihilating 95 percent of the carbon emissions that would be generated if it were to use conventional energy sources.

Production is slated to begin in mid-2026

The company behind the hydrogen fuel powered steelmaking strategy is H2 Green Steel. It plans to start producing green steel partway through 2026. The project will be located in Boden, at the company’s greenfield site.  After it begins production, it intends to increase supply to the European market, starting at 2.5 million metric tons per year and growing its capacity by 5 million metric tons per year by 2030.

Using H2 to power the process is key to this project and its clean production. The project will use electrolysis to produce clean hydrogen fuel, which will then be used to power the steelmaking process. The electricity to power the electrolyzer will be from Sweeden’s excess green hydroelectric power capacity.  This provides a clean alternative to coking coal.

Using hydrogen fuel to make steel

The H2 gas will be used for reducing iron ore and converting it into hot “green” iron, which can then be combined with recycled scrap.  From there, it heads to electric arc furnaces, where it will be rolled into fresh batches of steel.

The steelmaking plant will be outfitted with electrolyzers with a 700MW capacity. They are expected to produce 100,000 metric tons of H2 per year, which makes it one of the largest green hydrogen fuel facilities in Europe.

Steel output

The planned steel output for the project isn’t overwhelming. Particularly when compared to the 152 million metric tons produced by Eurofer, according to data from the European Steel Association.  However, those backing the H2 Green Steel project are hopeful that this will be a stepping stone toward much larger production projects. The idea is to create a blueprint so steelmaking in other parts of the trading block – and the world – will be able to replicate it