The European Commission has approved a €55 million grant to support the construction of ArcelorMittal's German "green steel" plant.
This demonstration plant in Hamburg will use renewable hydrogen, avoiding more than 700,000 tons of carbon emissions, according to Hydrogen Central.
It is noted that this will contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Hydrogen Strategy and the European Green Agreement. The project will also help to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the achievement of the goals of the REPowerEU plan.
The article emphasized that this direct grant will support the construction and installation of a demonstration production facility using 100% renewable hydrogen. The main goal of the project is the application of technology aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in ArcelorMittal's green steel production processes.
The plant is expected to have an annual capacity of 100,000 tons of direct reduction pig iron, a key raw material for steel production. It will start working from 2026.
The authors explained that the new industrial-scale demonstration plant will provide ArcelorMittal with valuable information on the production of high-quality steel without emissions. The company will use the experience gained to decarbonize steel production in the EU on a larger scale.
They emphasized that ArcelorMittal was committed to sharing its technical know-how with other European steel producers.
"Thanks to the use of renewable hydrogen, an ecologically clean steel plant will help reduce emissions in the energy-intensive sector and provide valuable information for the spread of this technology in the EU. Today's decision supports the EU's transition to an emission-free economy in accordance with the goals of the European Green Agreement," she said. Vice President of the European Commission Margret Vestager.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that research within the framework of the HYBRIT project showed that iron obtained by direct reduction (DRI) with hydrogen has better properties and quality.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the Austrian steel company Voestalpine from its metallurgical plant in Linz shipped to customers the first batch of low-carbon steel coils manufactured using the greentec Steel Edition technology.
