The steel sector is responsible for seven percent of global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Thanks to cleantech companies like H2 Green Steel they are making headway in more sustainable production, reducing emissions by up to 95 percent in key processes.
Photo: Midjourney (AI)
Steel production still requires coal. Most steel plants in the world continue to use iron ore, limestone and coke, a form of coal. Furthermore, many continue to use coal as a fuel to heat the furnaces. In fact, several reports on decarbonization, such as the IEA report, note that steel will be one of the last strongholds of this fossil fuel for years. This industry is responsible for seven percent of global carbon dioxide emissions – and five percent in Europe. The production of green steel is still marginal, but that could change shortly.
“We are set to begin production in 2026. We have obtained the necessary environmental permits and secured €6.5 billion in financing. Construction of the plant began in mid-2022, and this summer we successfully installed the first equipment for sustainable steel production,” explains Karin Hallstan, Head of Public and Media Relations at H2 Green Steel, a Swedish company currently building Europe’s first large-scale green steel plant in Boden, located in the north of the country.
Green hydrogen for the industry: H2 Green Steel
The goal is to achieve a production capacity of five million tons of this material annually by 2030, while reducing emissions by 95 percent compared to traditional methods. To achieve this, the first step is to produce hydrogen sustainably through the electrolysis of water, powered by electricity from renewable renewable sources. This hydrogen will then be used to reduce iron ore into steel, eliminating the need for coal in the process. This approach, known as direct iron reduction steelmaking, traditionally relies on natural gas. Finally, the necessary smelting to homogenize the material will be carried out in electric furnaces.
“We rely on the power of science. We need to transform our economy to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that are causing clinate change. If we don’t transform some of the world’s most polluting industries, such as steel and cement, cleantech is the solution,” adds Hallstan.
Green hydrogen, hope for decarbonization
Green hydrogen is also a key hope for the cement industry, which accounts for approximately seven percent of global carbon emissions. The European HYIELD project is currently constructing Europe’s first industrial-scale waste-to-hydrogen plant in Spain. Once operational, this green hydrogen will be used in cement production, aiming to reduce final emissions by 47 percent.
The use of green hydrogen and other cleantech technologies poses an opportunity to reduce the emissions of one of the most polluting industries while also paving the way to a cleaner, more sustainable economy. Innovation in sectors like steel and cement is critical in order to achieve global climate commitments. As these technologies are more widely implemented, new opportunities for economic growth and employment will emerge, while significantly contributing to the fight against climate change.