(Bremen) – The Luxembourg-based steel company ArcelorMittal SA plans to significantly reduce CO2 emissions at its Bremen plant. Under a preliminary agreement, the Oldenburg-based energy supplier EWE AG is expected to supply Bremen with green hydrogen from a 320-megawatt production plant in Emden, starting around 2028.
Hydrogen replaces coal
The ArcelorMittal blast furnaces there are to be replaced by new electric arc furnaces and a direct reduction plant (DRI). Hydrogen will replace the previously used coal as a chemical reducing agent. “Until green hydrogen is available in sufficient quantities and at competitive prices, we plan to use natural gas in the transition phase, which will already reduce emissions by more than 60 percent,” says COO and board member of ArcelorMittal Bremen, Frank Hohlweg.
Hydrogen is “an indispensable component for achieving the set climate goals and for linking the three sectors of energy, mobility and industry,” emphasizes EWE CEO Stefan Dohler. Together with partners, the company is planning projects along the entire hydrogen value chain, from generation from renewable energies to storage and transport to application, especially in industry and heavy-duty transport.
IPCEI funding applied for
According to Stefan Dohler, the starting point for the large-scale production of green hydrogen for ArcelorMittal is the large-scale “Clean Hydrogen Coastline” project. This brings together production, storage, transport and use in industry.
EWE applied for funding in February 2021 as part of the European IPCEI program (Important Projects of Common European Interest). According to the company, funding at the European level is currently still being examined. ArcelorMittal has applied for funding to convert the blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces with direct reduction systems, which also still have to be approved by the EU Commission. However, without competitive prices and quantities, firm assurance of funding, rapid provision of funding and quick approval procedures, companies would not be able to implement their projects or not within the planned time frame.
400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity
EWE wants to install up to 400 megawatts of electrolysis capacity near the German North Sea coast, which could produce up to 40.000 tons of green hydrogen annually. There is also the possibility of expanding generation capacities up to the gigawatt scale. The green hydrogen will also be used at ArcelorMittal Bremen.
The hydrogen will be transported via hydrogen pipelines, including those being built as part of the large-scale "Clean Hydrogen Coastline" project, as well as the planned "Hyperlink" project by the long-distance gas network operator Gasunie. Furthermore, the positioning of EWE's production facilities at key offshore connection points allows for the integration of green hydrogen imports.
10 MW electrolysis is scheduled to go into operation in 2024
In April 2023, ArcelorMittal Bremen, EWE and EWE subsidiary SWB laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 10 megawatt hydrogen generation plant. It is scheduled to go into operation in 2024 and will initially produce around 1.500 tons of hydrogen per year. The quantities would be gradually increased into the three-digit megawatt range. The lion's share is delivered to ArcelorMittal's steelworks in the immediate vicinity of the electrolyzer.
According to an announcement from 2021, ArcelorMittal wants to produce climate-neutral steel by 2050. In Europe, CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 2030 percent by 35.
Photos
ArcelorMittal's Bremen steelworks. Here the company wants to convert two blast furnaces from coal to hydrogen, which EWE is supposed to supply. © EWE / Kerstin Rolfes
