H2 Green Steel explores four new ‘large’ projects
Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel is confident customers are willing to pay a premium for green steel and is expanding its project portfolio.
The company has four new large projects “close to moving into the permitting phase,” Kallanish learns from its vice president for growth and hydrogen business, Kajsa Ryttberg-Walgren. The pre-feasibility stage projects are located in Quebec, Texas, Brazil and Portugal, she reveals at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam.
H2 Green Steel has been searching for these “perfect locations” for two years, the executive adds, without elaborating on details. “They are like the gold mines of the future.”
Its pioneering project in Boden, Sweden, a greenfield steel mill, relies on a giga-scale electrolyser to bring 5 million tonnes of green steel to the market by 2030. With a €6.5 billion ($7.03 billion) financial closure, the project will produce 100,000t/year of green hydrogen, using 750 megawatts of renewable power. First production is expected in 2026.
This new steelmaking route can reduce emissions by 95%, decarbonising a sector that accounts for 8% of the global CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. But to cost-effectively replace coal with green hydrogen in steelmaking, a steel manufacturer would have to be in places with abundant renewables at a low cost.
“We should rethink the value chain. It doesn’t make sense to build a plant that is dependent on maybe 20 terawatt-hours of renewables in a location where you don’t have renewables,” argues Ryttberg-Walgren.
While recognising that hydrogen imports can be a decarbonisation enabler, she says there are “better ways” for the steel industry to get energy indirectly to Europe, such as through direct reduced iron (DRI) imports. “Instead of trying to protect everything that you have today, think about – how can I protect what should be protected for the future? It’s a very political topic,” she adds.
Ryttberg-Walgren notes that if Europe is to meet the Paris agreement target, a lot of “political courage” will be required.
Plans to use green hydrogen to export decarbonised iron to Europe and elsewhere are high on the agenda of countries such as Namibia, South Africa and Brazil.
Voestalpine, Mercedes-Benz, TSR ensure green steel for automotive
Austria’s largest steelmaker, voestalpine, together with Mercedes-Benz and TSR Recycling, will form a joint project to ensure the technical feasibility of processng post-consumer scrap (old scrap) into high-quality scrap that can be used to produce high-quality steel grades for the automotive industry, Kallanish notes.
In this way, the steelmaker is making an important contribution to sustainability and at the same time evaluating new opportunities for its increasing demand for scrap in connection with the transformation to green steel production, the enterprise claims.
“The increasing demand for recycled materials due to the European steel industry’s switch to green steel production cannot be fully covered by new scrap and it will therefore be necessary in future to increasingly utilise old scrap,” voestalpine states. “In this specific joint flagship project of voestalpine, Mercedes-Benz, and TSR, the less pure post-consumer scrap is being reprocessed so that it can be used as high-quality steel of the highest grade as a side panel in the Mercedes A-Class sedan.”
“Voestalpine has been working successfully for decades on closing loops in production in order to conserve resources and secure the supply of raw materials,” says the company’s chief executive, Herbert Eibensteiner. “This unique cooperation with Mercedes-Benz and TSR Recycling shows us further opportunities and potential in the circular economy and is another important puzzle piece on the road to green steel production.”
“Being able to produce high-quality steel grades using low-emission production processes is one of the major technological challenges in the transition to green steel production,” notes Hubert Zajicek, head of voestalpine’s steel division. “We are conducting intensive research on various processes and are developing solutions together with our customers and suppliers so that we can continue to expand our leading position in the production of high-quality steel grades despite the change in technology.”
In accordance with its greentec steel plan, voestalpine is replacing two blast furnaces, one in Linz and one in Donawitz, with an electric arc furnace (EAF) starting in 2027. Depending on the quality requirements, a mix of liquid pig iron, briquetted sponge iron (hot briquetted iron, HBI) and scrap will be used in the two EAFs.
“Scrap is therefore a valuable raw material and plays a key role in transitioning to green steel production,” it adds.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Margins remain under pressure downstream: Assofermet
Italian service centres are “caught in the grip between producers and consumers, in a market characterised by uncertainty,” bemoans steel trade association Assofermet in its market note sent to Kallanish. They continue to operate despite, according to them, insufficient margins.
The recent increase in quotes from EU and non-EU steelmakers is compounding supply restrictions stemming from EU safeguard measures and pushing distributors and re-rollers to increase their May prices.
April was a slow month in terms of volumes sold, also due to the several bank holidays observed in Italy and Central European countries. Some positive signs however came from end-users. Fearing a price rebound for coils, they increased their sheet and strip purchasing volumes, stocking up for May.
“Even though the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are bound to still impact world economies, some signs of optimism are coming from the EU for the long-awaited … round of lowering the cost of money [interest rates], which is expected to finally begin in June,” Assofermet states. It adds that service centres’ raw material stocks are slightly above average due to the slowdown in first-quarter sales.
After the April weakness in the downstream sector, the association sees a price rebound shaping up in May for both flat and long products, with volumes in line with 2023. It states that the market no longer expects prices to decline but doubts the price increases will turn into a real recovery.
Natalia Capra France
Executives doubt EU stainless market recovery: BIR
A recovery in the European stainless steel market is yet to come. Some analysts forecast a two-digit on-year increase in stainless steel apparent consumption this year, says Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Committee chairman Joost van Kleef, of Oryx Stainless in the Netherlands.
“This year started stronger than expected, supported by a further seasonal uptick in stainless steel demand as well as historically low imports and import penetration levels. European crude stainless production, however, has been impacted by strikes, with one of the larger producers even being affected since February. Despite this, overall mill demand for stainless scrap was robust during the first quarter,” van Kleef states in the latest BIR mirror sent to Kallanish.
European scrap availability was tight in Q1. In January-February, the EU recorded an increase of more than 50% in net imports of stainless scrap from third countries when compared to the same period in 2023.
European stainless coil supply reduced considerably in Q1 owing to strikes that have halved finished flat products output, says Ruggero Ricco, chief executive of Italy’s Nichel Leghe. While Outokumpu stopped production for a few weeks, Spain’s Acerinox continues to face worker disputes. This has enabled Aperam and Acciai Speciali Terni (AST) to achieve full order books for the coming months.
“It is not possible to say with certainty whether scrap and coil price increases can continue once all four producers return to normal,” Ricco states. He adds that in June and July, the European market may be flooded by imported finished product from Asia.
There has been a slight uptick so far in Q2 of scrap and coil prices. However, despite scrap sellers’ push for increases, driven by shortages and the recent LME nickel hikes, the value of scrap has not risen by as much as it should have. This is also because of the weakness in long steelmakers’ sales and continuous use of nickel pig iron, Ricco concludes.
Scrap prices for grade 304 and 316 are ticking up in Italy this month but flattening in other EU countries such as France. Demand from long steelmakers in Europe remains weak, a northern European long producer confirms. 304 grade is being sold at between €1,440-1,490/tonne ($1,554-1,608) delivered depending on each EU country, Kallanish notes.
Natalia Capra France