(Stockholm / Sweden) – The Swedish company H2 Green Steel AB can put its new plant for the direct reduction of iron ore in northern Swedish soil into operation after its completion. An initial approval was granted in July 2022 and enabled construction to begin. At that time, as reported, clearing began on the 270 hectare site.
Henrik Henriksson, Managing Director of H2 Green Steel, Ida Westberg, Vice President Legal Affairs, and Project Officer Bror Styren (from left to right). © H2 Green Steel AB
With the “full approval” now in place, the company is allowed to produce steel with a volume of five million tons per year. Operations are scheduled to start in 2025, followed by a ramp-up phase in 2026. The entire process, from application to full approval, reportedly took less than 18 months.
From a technological point of view, in the planned direct reduction process, ore is reduced to sponge iron in pellet form using hydrogen; Conventionally, steel manufacturers use coke for iron production, which results in the emission of large amounts of climate-damaging CO2. The hydrogen in soil is produced using renewable energies.
Thyssenkrupp supplies electrolyzer
In May, H2 Green Steel agreed with Thyssenkrupp Nucera AG & Co KG to supply an alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) plant with a capacity of 700 megawatts. The hydrogen produced is used directly on site for the direct reduction process.
The green electricity required for hydrogen production comes from Statkraft. According to an agreement from June 2022, the Norwegian energy company will deliver around two terawatt hours per year from Swedish hydroelectric power plants to Boden from 2026. In total, contracts have been concluded for the delivery of 14 terawatt hours.
Jenny Marin, Category Manager Logistics at H2 Green Steel and Anders Dahl, Managing Director of the Port of Luleå, have signed an agreement to use the port as a logistics center. © H2 Green Steel AB
At the end of May, H2 Green Steel signed a contract with the port of Luleå. There, about 30 minutes by car southeast of Boden, the logistics and transport center for intermediate goods and products that are transported to and from its new steelworks will be built. Anders Dahl, CEO of Port of Luleå, expects his new customer to contribute “significant freight volume within a few years.” In addition, the agreement is “an important building block in our efforts to plan the expansion of a port that must increase its freight capacity by several hundred percent by 2030.”
Acceptance contracts for steel concluded
H2 Green Steel had already made a number of agreements with potential steel customers last year. Most recently, the company signed a seven-year contract with the Italian steel group Marcegaglia to supply green steel to its operations in southern Europe, Great Britain and Poland, worth 1,79 billion euros. Marcegaglia has 37 steelworks on three continents, whose core business includes pipes, insulation, railings, stainless steel long products as well as cold-drawn bars and heavy plates. The family company participates as an investor in the steelworks.
Thyssenkrupp supplies the electrolyzer for producing green hydrogen. © H2 Green Steel AB
The British steel service center SPM (Steel Processing Midlands) has also concluded a five-year supply contract with H2 Green Steel. According to the company, the volume corresponds to around 25 percent of the annual steel requirement and the financial volume is 125 million euros. Steel Processing (Midlands) Ltd is a private steel processor with customers primarily in the UK automotive and construction industries.
The Billstein Group also buys steel from H2 Green Steel. The manufacturer of cold-rolled strip steel for customers in the automotive, tool and furnishing industries has signed a seven-year contract. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2026. The two companies also intend to collaborate on the development of steel grades, share best practices to reduce carbon footprints, and develop a closed-loop model for the return of scrap from Bilstein's production facilities to H2 Green's operations Steel should be recycled.
Photos
Rendering of the planned green steel plant in Swedish soil. © H2 Green Steel AB
