ArcelorMittal steel used to transport hydrogen in EU

ArcelorMittal has announced that it has supplied steel for the manufacturing of pipes specifically designed to transport 100% concentrated hydrogen.

The pipes were manufactured by Greek Corinth Pipeworks using steel supplied from the Fos-sur-Mer and Bremen mills. The tubes were then used in a new 440km high-pressure network in Italy.

“While steel is the best material available to transport hydrogen, a key challenge is the effect that the gas has on the metal,” explains Frederic Bouchaud, ArcelorMittal account manager for oil and gas pipelines. “For this project we have created a robust new steel which will resist embrittlement and transport hydrogen gas safely throughout Europe. The result is a very wide, high-quality steel with low carbon content, excellent cleanliness, a homogenous microstructure, and low levels of sulfur and phosphorous.”

Finished pipes have an outside diameter of 26 inches (660 mm) and thicknesses of 11.1 and 15.9 mm. To meet these specifications, ArcelorMittal produced extra-wide 2,100mm coils. After forming by CPW, the pipes were laboratory tested at maximum pressure and 100% hydrogen.

The possibility to effectively transport hydrogen in Europe is central to the future development of greener steel in the continent, Kallanish notes.

Emanuele Norsa Italy