Newly formed company H2 Green Steel (H2GS) on Tuesday announced plans to build a hydrogen powered steel plant in the north of Sweden, already a pioneer in the field.

The new fossil fuel free steel plant will include "a giga-scale green hydrogen plant as an integrated part of the steel production facility," employ some 1,500 people and aims to start production in 2024, the company said in a statement.

Behind the project is investment firm Vargas Holding, co-founder of battery maker Northvolt which is also building a massive battery factory in the north of Sweden.

"We want to accelerate the transformation of the European steel industry. Electrification was the first step in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation industry. The next step is to build vehicles from high-quality fossil-free steel," Carl-Erik Lagercrantz, chair of the boards of H2GS and Northvolt, said in a statement.

H2GS also announced that Henrik Henriksson, currently the chief executive of truckmaker Scania, had been recruited to lead the project.

The company said production would start in 2024 and by 2030 it would have annual output of five million tons of steel.

Financing for the first phase of the project would total 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion), which would be raised through "a combination of equity and green project financing."

The budding steelmaker conceded that an "important source of inspiration for the initiative is the groundbreaking HYBRIT project."

HYBRIT is a joint project between state miner LKAB, steelmaker SSAB and state-owned utility Vattenfall with the aim of developing a fossil fuel free process for producing steel, which currently relies on the combination of iron ore and coal.

In November 2019, SSAB announced it was aiming to be the first to bring fossil fuel free steel to market, saying it would "be able to deliver fossil-free steel... in 2026."

According to the International Energy Agency, "the iron and steel sector ranks first when it comes to CO2 emissions," among heavy industries.

The sector "directly accounts for 2.6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, 7.0 percent of the global total from the energy system and more than the emissions from all road freight," the IEA said in a report in October.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

UN report finds Trump ally violated Libya arms embargo: US media
Washington (AFP) Feb 20, 2021
Private security contractor and ally of former US President Trump Erik Prince violated a United Nations arms embargo on Libya, UN investigators have found in a report detailed by US media on Friday. The confidential report to the Security Council, obtained by the New York Times and the Washington Post, said that Prince deployed a force of foreign mercenaries and weapons to strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has fought to overthrow the UN-backed Libyan government, in 2019. The $80 million operation in ... read more