BMW Group has reached an agreement to source steel from Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel, which uses hydrogen and only green power from renewable energies for steel production.
In addition to the delivery of “green” steel, BMW and H2 Green Steel have also agreed to create a closed-loop material cycle. The Swedish company will take back sheet metal remnants, such as those produced at press plants when doors are punched out, and will process them in such a way that they can be shipped back to the plants as steel coils, the carmaker claims.
BMW is already using between 20% and 100% secondary steel in its vehicles and will continue to increase this percentage in the future. Its press plants in Europe process more than 500,000 tonnes/year of steel, Kallanish notes.
From 2025 onwards, the carmaker plans to purchase steel that is produced with up to 95% less CO2 emissions and without requiring fossil resources such as coal.
“Our goal is to reduce CO2 emissions in our steel supply chain by about 2 million tonnes by 2030,” says BMW board member Andreas Wendt. “Sourcing steel produced using hydrogen and green power can make a vital contribution to this.”
H2 Green Steel is building its steel production site in Norrbotten Province in northern Sweden, close to the Arctic Circle. The region provides access to high-quality iron ore, plentiful energy from renewable sources such as hydroelectric and wind power, a major seaport and generations of steel production know-how.
Unlike conventional processes that rely on coke for making steel, the company employs hydrogen produced using green power to remove the oxygen from the iron oxide. The specially built hydrogen power plant, which uses water and green power from across the region, will be directly integrated into the steel production plant.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
