Engineering consultancy and certification company RINA plans to build a pilot hydrogen-fuelled steelmaking plant in Italy, to be used for research purposes.
The plant will be located in Castel Romano and involves an investment of €88 million ($93m). The project is supported by Italian authorities and backed as part of the IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) support mechanism.
The plant will have a 30m-high direct iron ore reduction tower, an electric arc furnace and a reheating furnace that will operate with near zero emissions for the production of steel, Kallanish notes.
“The new plant will make the entire steel production process cleaner. It will further provide a fully open testing facility available to steelmakers worldwide to meet the decarbonisation challenge and prove the quality of steel produced using hydrogen instead of carbon-based energy sources,” explains RINA head Ugo Salerno.
The technology will rely on availability of hydrogen to power the steelmaking process. RINA will also launch a centre of excellence for the dissemination of hydrogen know-how.
Emanuele Norsa Italy
