Spain’s Hydnum Steel (HS) has been declared a priority project by the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, Kallanish learns from the company. This will guarantee the investment preferential administrative processing and fast track project implementation.
HS plans to build the first green steel mill on the Iberian Peninsula. The project, a partnership consisting of the Helvella investment company, Siemens, ABEI Energy and Russula Corporation, will be located in Puertollano, in the Castilla-La Mancha region.
“Our project will lead, not only to the decarbonisation of the steel industry, but will also be a great driver for economic activity and employment, attracting auxiliary companies and promoting the service sector and infrastructure development,” says HS chief executive Eva Maneiro.
The Puertollano project’s new status will speed up its implementation, especially in matters of land and urban planning. Among other advantages, it implies economic and financial incentive measures.
The green steel plant is designed to use fossil-free energy throughout the manufacturing process and will gradually incorporate green hydrogen to substantially reduce CO2 emissions.
“Production will be in line with the sustainable development objectives in the steel sector and the circular economy, recycling scrap as raw material, minimising the use of water and valuing the waste and by-products generated during the manufacturing processes,” HS confirms.
The plant will satisfy the growing consumption of low-emission rolled steel in key sectors in Spain, such as automotive and construction.
“Flat steel demand continues to grow above production levels, producing a negative trade balance of 11 million tonnes each year at a European level and around 4-5mt in Spain,” Maneiro observes. “Furthermore, this demand is expected to grow at a steady rate of 1.3% until 2030. Therefore, the market is heading towards a supply deficit of low-emission flat steel which makes this type of project especially important. Added to this is Spain’s potential in terms of volume and price of renewable energy, with the lowest production costs in Europe.”
The project is valued at €1.65 billion ($1.73 billion) and will create more than 1,000 direct jobs. The plant, occupying an area of 1.3 million square metres, is expected to be operational in 2026.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
