Infrastructure operator Snam and technology firm Tenova are cooperating on green hydrogen technology to reduce CO₂ and NOx emissions in steel production.

The two companies will work together over the next three years to design a technology offering based on the use of green hydrogen.

“We are developing a ready-to-use solution for our customers, directly at their production sites,” says Tenova CEO Roberto Pancaldi.

Tenova's combustion systems can blend hydrogen with natural gas up to concentrations of 100pc in the direct reduction process.

Hydrogen direct reduction converts pre-heated iron ore into direct reduced iron (DRI) by using hydrogen as a reducing agent and energy source. DRI can then be fed into an electric arc furnace to produce steel.

8pc – Steelmaking’s contribution to global emissions

“Hydrogen is essential to cut emissions from the production of steel and other metals, as well as from all hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, ceramics, chemistry and refining,” says Cosma Panzacchi, vice-president of hydrogen at Snam.

Tenova worked on the Hybrit fossil-free steelmaking project in Sweden. Hybrit’s pilot plant in Lulea produced the first hydrogen-reduced DRI last year. The iron was then used to produce steel the following month and delivered to Volvo the month after.

Tenova has also previously signed a contract with steel firm Salzgitter to supply a demonstration plant. And it is hoping to get finance from the US’s innovation fund for a project that use hydrogen directly in electric arc furnaces.

Decarbonisation imperative

Steelmaking is responsible for around 8pc of global CO₂ emissions. Long investment cycles mean that investments in new or existing steel plants from 2030 onwards should be compatible with a net-zero 2050 objective to avoid stranding these assets.

“For this to be feasible, several commercial-scale plants using zero-emissions technologies need to be built this decade to prove them at scale,” says steel industry group the Net Zero Steel Initiative in its flagship report last year.

The report says a portfolio of solutions is needed to decarbonise steelmaking, as different technologies will be cost-competitive in different locations.

The report suggests that production technologies using green hydrogen could be responsible for 40-55pc of primary steel production in 2050, creating 35-55mn t/yr of demand for the fuel.

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Author: Tom Young