“Such a change in scope would entail a substantially lower-cost project, one that does not assume availability of massive amounts of hydrogen and would instead rely on readily available and more economical fossil fuels.”
IDTechEx highlighted that steelmakers need low-carbon hydrogen at $2–3/kg, far below the current $4–8/kg for green hydrogen, which has prompted companies to scale back investments.
The Spanish steel producer will supply green steel from its Puertollano plant, which is scheduled to begin construction between 2026 and 2029.
Up to 37 20MW alkaline electrolyser modules will be delivered to the Boden site to form a 740MW green hydrogen production plant.
ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal admitted that the large-scale transformation of steelmaking through green hydrogen and CCUS won’t happen before 2030 due to the high capital and operational costs associated.
Thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe will use the green steel to decarbonise its supply chains across automotive, construction and appliances.
Despite industry-wide setbacks and recalibration, large-scale industrial hydrogen has made impressive steps to becoming a commercial reality in recent months.
“Under the current conditions, there is no guarantee that we will be able to operate the plant economically in the foreseeable future,” Miguel Lopez said.
HyIron’s Oshivela plant is set to begin producing green hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) within the next month, targeting an initial output of 15,000 tonnes per year.
The plan outlines measures to protect EU steelmakers from cheap imports by accelerating grid access and prioritising clean tech investments, as well as curbing imported volumes by up to 15%.
