Tubos Reunidos develops hydrogen distribution pipe
Spanish seamless tube supplier Tubos Reunidos (TR) is developing pipe capable of transporting hydrogen. As part of its participation in the H2Bidea project, the company aims to support the expansion of green hydrogen valleys and industrial decarbonisation in Spain, Kallanish notes.
“We are constantly improving our processes and products to make them more sustainable,” explains TR R&D director Jon Bikandi. “The Group is developing carbon steel piping capable of distributing 100% hydrogen at up to 160 bar, which currently does not exist. This proves that we can reduce our carbon footprint while also driving industrial decarbonisation and building a green value chain for businesses.”
The project is being led by a Basque consortium including Nortegas, Tubos Reunidos, Arizaga, Bastarrica y Compañía (ABC Compressors), Orkli, Comercial de Aplicaciones Electrónicas (Fidegas), and Calcinor Servicios.
Supported by the Basque government’s Hazitek R&D programme and the European Union, the project aims to be completed by 2027, culminating in the H2TESTLAB distribution network demonstration, a dynamic circuit designed to assess damage tolerance in hydrogen-compatible components.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
Hydrogen should be prioritised for steel production: OECD
Hydrogen should be prioritised for steel sector decarbonisation over other possible applications, the OECD says in a new report seen by Kallanish.
It notes that steel needs to compete with other industries in securing limited hydrogen resources, despite the gas being used in the steelmaking process being considered a high value application.
The report says that given its significant potential to reduce emissions by up to 90% in the steel industry compared to other sectors, its use in the steel sector is considered important. It therefore calls for the prioritising of green hydrogen supplies to the industry.
Current hydrogen production is limited, mostly based on fossil fuels, and mostly feeding production processes in other sectors. Renewable or green hydrogen is only available in very limited quantities.
Recent OECD estimates expect excess capacity to reach 630 million tonnes by 2026. This corresponds roughly to the amount of hydrogen-based steelmaking capacity that needs to come online to achieve net-zero goals by 2050 in the most ambitious decarbonisation scenarios for hydrogen-based steelmaking developments.
OECD figures show that a total of 164mt of direct reduced iron capacity is in the planning and construction phase until 2030, of which only 15mt (9.2%) is based on hydrogen. The vast majority is based on natural gas DRI, with some gradually switching to hydrogen as it becomes available for steelmaking.
The range of estimates for carbon neutral steelmaking by 2050 assign a prominent role for hydrogen-based DRI solutions. These range between 370-873mt, corresponding to 20-40% of the estimates for total production in 2050. With subdued global demand projections, the build-up of these capacities needs to be accompanied by the exit of emission-intensive facilities to avoid furthering excess capacity.
The organisation also notes the importance of hydrogen-based projects being located where they make most sense from a market perspective and in regions that are not plagued by excess capacity. The opportunity to use hydrogen in steelmaking should be balanced against other possible decarbonisation routes for the sector, it adds.
While hydrogen-based steelmaking currently faces significant cost and competitiveness challenges, these will likely subside in the future as the technology matures. Cost constraints of green hydrogen should also reduce as access to renewable energy improves and electrolyser costs diminish, it says.
Steelmakers may adopt gradual phase-in strategies to keep up with the pace of developments in green hydrogen markets. It also notes the role governments are playing in bringing hydrogen to the market, with many highlighting the role the fuel will play for the steel sector in their national hydrogen strategies.
It also warns that while the majority of DRI projects are built under the premise of using natural gas as a transition fuel, it is key that support provided is conditional upon the adoption of green hydrogen at a certain stage to ensure that carbon is not locked in.
Carrie Bone UK
US company produces clean hydrogen using steel off-gases
Texas-based Utility Global says onsite hydrogen production using industrial off-gases is a commercially viable solution for steelmakers, Kallanish reports.
The company has claimed an industry milestone with the successful implementation of a system that can produce clean hydrogen from water without the need for electricity. Its so-called H2Gen system has produced, for the first time in the world, hydrogen using gas from a blast furnace.
Hydrogen is expected to play a promising role in the decarbonisation of steelmaking. However, its high production costs and bottlenecks around renewable energy supply are becoming impending hurdles to its application.
“Our successful deployment of H2Gen at a major steel plant [in North America] proves we can deliver scalable, economic, clean hydrogen solutions that seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and assets,” Utility ceo Parker Meeks states. “H2Gen is the only commercially viable solution for producing clean hydrogen in hard-to-abate industries like steelmaking.”
Pilot plant testing for H2Gen started in 2022 in Houston, delivering 99% pure hydrogen with a 99.7% operational uptime. The commercial-scale demonstration at the steel plant ran for over 3,000 hours, but details on hydrogen purity and production capacity were not disclosed.
According to Utility’s website, its technology combines electrochemical and chemical processes based on a solid oxide-based system. Its gas production is based on two streams, which are separated by an impermeable electrolyte, and counter-exchange of oxygen ions and electrons. One stream undergoes reduction whilst the other undergoes oxidation. Electrons flow from the anode to the cathode, forming hydrogen at the cathode, the company explains.
“Unlike traditional fuel cells or electrolysers, no current is extracted or delivered to the reactor to drive the process,” it adds, noting an immediate economic benefit. Further cost reductions come from its scalability, relatively small size, and simplicity – without the need for additional infrastructure.
Salzgitter lays cornerstone for green hydrogen plant
Salzgitter has laid the cornerstone for what it says is one of the largest production plants for green hydrogen in Europe, Kallanish notes.
Starting from 2026, the plant will generate around 9,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen to be used for the production of carbon-reduced steel. This will mark the start of the industrial use of hydrogen in the company’s SALCOS – Salzgitter Low CO2 Steelmaking – project. The 100 MW electrolysis plant will be supplied by Andritz.
A contract between the two companies was signed in September 2023 (see Kallanish September 2023). The engineering involves partner company HydrogenPro. The partner’s pressurised electrolyser stacks are particularly suited for large-scale industrial application, according to Andritz executive Domenico Iacovelli.
Separately, the steelmaker announces its plate-making subsidiary Ilsenburger Grobblech has signed a contract with wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa for the delivery of around 25,000t of heavy plate.
These will be used for the construction of 36 wind towers of Siemens Gamesa’s “GreenerTower” type. The special feature of this tower is its CO2eq emissions of less than 700 kg per tonne of steel, Salzgitter notes.
The CO2eq-reduced tower has been part of Siemens Gamesa’s product portfolio since 2024. The first use of the towers will be in the “Thor” offshore wind farm in the Danish North Sea. This is planned to be completed by the end of 2027 and have a capacity of more than 1,000 MW.
Christian Koehl Germany
Tenova, DMV to recover flared hydrogen in pipemaking
Tenova has established a consortium with DMV, along with other companies, to execute a project aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the bright annealing process in stainless steel seamless and nickel alloy tube production.
DMV was previously known as Mannesmann Stainless Tubes and is now part of Cogne.
The so-called LIFE H2Reuse project, funded by the EU, focuses on decarbonisation via the recovery and reuse of hydrogen. Tenova initiated the project this summer, aiming to improve energy efficiency while also enhancing the efficiency of hydrogen burners, optimising resource utilisation, and decreasing operating expenses.
“This groundbreaking initiative seeks to develop innovative solutions for hydrogen recovery and reuse … In the bright annealing process, 100% hydrogen is used in high-temperature furnaces to produce high-performance tubes with superior surface quality, corrosion resistance, and durability,” Tenova says in note sent to Kallanish.
“Currently, hydrogen is flared after each production cycle, leading to significant waste. The Life H2Reuse project aims to address this issue by developing two innovative technical solutions: recovering the wasted hydrogen from the annealing process and reusing it as fuel in radiant tubes working 100% of hydrogen. This approach represents a market-first innovation, as the recovery of atmospheric gas for reuse in industrial processes is not yet commercially available,” the technology supplier adds.
Tenova will test the project on its roller hearth furnace plants to reduce their carbon footprint.
In July, pipemaker Tenaris started decarbonising its steelmaking process using hydrogen and launched a trial at its Dalmine mill in Bergamo, Italy. This was the result of a six-month partnership with Snam and Tenova. The company’s objective is to use on-site hydrogen production to power a newly developed burner by Tenova, which is fully compatible with 100% hydrogen.
Natalia Capra France
ArcelorMittal Poland to build hydrogen plant to power steel sheet galvanizing lines
ArcelorMittal Poland has contracted Linde Gaz Polska to build a hydrogen production plant at its Krakow branch to supply process gas to two galvanizing lines, the steel company said.
The PLN 100 million ($24 million) investment has already started with design work underway. The plant will be producing hydrogen from natural gas with the startup planned for the end of 2026.
“The project with Linde is [meant] to ensure a reliable supply of hydrogen for our sheet galvanizing operations,” the director of the Krakow branch, Lukasz Skorupa, said in the company’s statement.
Separately, ArcelorMittal Poland is building several hydrogen furnaces that will make it possible to eliminate ammonia in the annealing plant boosting its safety, Skorupa said.
ArcelorMittal Poland has not used coal as a fuel since 2018, and it terminated coke production in July 2024. Its installations — the hot rolling mill and the cold rolling mill, the galvanizing and color-coating lines — now operate exclusively on natural gas, according to Skorupa.
“We are constantly improving the quality of our products, expanding their range, and at the same time gradually reducing our impact on the environment,” ArcelorMittal Poland CEO Wojciech Koszuta said.
“In our processes, we replace technologies with those that have a lower impact on the environment. Hence the elimination of ammonia and the transition to hydrogen.”
Ontras, H2 Energy Europe partner on hydrogen network
German transmission system operator (TSO) Ontras and H2 Energy Europe have partnered to establish a green hydrogen transport network between Denmark and Germany, Kallanish reports.
Under an MOU, the companies will explore options to transport green hydrogen from H2 Energy Europe’s planned 1-gigawatt production facility in Denmark through the proposed German hydrogen core network (HCN). If successful, the hydrogen could be delivered to German industrial customers in Salzgitter, Berlin, Eisenhüttenstadt, Magdeburg and Leipzig-Halle, the companies said in a joint statement Thursday. These will include steelmakers, chemical manufacturers and power generators.
The companies say they could utilise the Ontras Green Octopus Mitteldeutschland pipeline, a roughly 300-kilometre-long pipeline connecting the industrial regions to the HCN. German utility EnBW, the parent company of Ontras, is investing €1 billion ($1.09 billion) to build HCN, which is estimated to come into operation by 2032.
Ontras and H2 Energy Europe plan to assess the technical and commercial transport requirements, as well as potential exit points, to bring green hydrogen from H2 Energy’s Esbjerg plant to Germany. Ultimately, the two companies intend to enter a long-term capacity contract.
“This agreement perfectly symbolises our dedication to creating a comprehensive hydrogen backbone on a European level,” says Ralph Bahke, Ontras’ managing director of controlling and development. “Hard-to-abate industries will be able to substantially reduce their carbon emissions using renewable hydrogen delivered to them through our network from sources such as this ambitious project in Denmark.”
H2 Energy Europe’s so-called Njordkraft project plans to construct a 1-GW green hydrogen production facility in Esbjerg, Denmark. The plant is expected to produce 90,000 tonnes/year of green hydrogen using power from offshore wind farms, with commercial operations planned for 2028.
Cyril Cabanes, chief executive of H2 Energy Europe, adds that connecting the proposed project to Ontras’ gas transport network in Germany, would “contribute to the development of an integrated, reliable hydrogen economy that spans across Europe.”
Reethu Ravi UK
German steel industry to become major green hydrogen offtaker
Europe’s steel industry is set to be a significant consumer of renewable hydrogen and German steelmakers in particular have some of the most advanced plans in the region to tap the new green energy source.
Potential future demand from the German steel sectorcould amount to 850,000 metric tons per year by 2030, according to German steel association WV Stahl, with producers planning to connect to a national hydrogen pipeline network now under construction, as well as producing their own green hydrogen from electrolyzers onsite, saving 28 t of CO2 per metric ton of hydrogen.
The German government expects total hydrogen demand of 95-130 TWh (2.85 million-3.90 million t/y) by 2030, with 40-75 TWh from new demand.
Carbon-accounted hot-rolled coil steel commanded a $120/t premium to the Platts conventional HRC assessment of $615/t ex-Ruhr on Aug. 7.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the cost of green hydrogen production via alkaline electrolysis in Germany, backed by renewable power purchase agreements, at an average of Eur7.98/kg ($8.71/kg) in July.
“The steel industry offers one of the most encouraging new use cases for low-carbon hydrogen due to the amount of CO2 that can be abated per kilogram of hydrogen,” Commodity Insights senior hydrogen analyst Matthew Hodgkinson said. “However, switching to low-carbon steel production is expensive, with ETS prices of at least Eur150-200/t required to make it comparable to current production methods.”
Platts assessed nearest December EU ETS prices at Eur71.04/t Aug. 7.
Complete decarbonization of EU crude steel production would require around 6 million to 8 million t/y of low-carbon hydrogen, comparable with current total hydrogen demand, Hodgkinson said.
German steel producers, backed by national and EU government policies, aim for climate neutrality by 2045, targeting a 30-50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Greening steel
Steel production accounts for around 5% of European CO2 emissions, and 8% globally. Germany is Europe’s largest steel producer and seventh biggest in the world, and the sector accounts for around 30% of the country’s industrial emissions.
Steel is produced through two main production routes that both emit CO2 — the blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BF/BOF), and the direct reduction iron/electric arc furnace (DRI/EAF) routes.
The predominant BF/BOF route removes oxygen from iron ore using a carbon reducing agent, such as coking coal, leading to around 1.6-2 t of CO2 emissions per metric ton of crude steel produced. The basic oxygen furnace then converts molten iron from the BF into steel.
Meanwhile, DRI plants can use natural gas, hydrogen or a mixture to remove oxygen from iron ore. Using only renewable hydrogen produces zero greenhouse gases. The EAF melts scrap steel or DRI to produce steel using electric arcs.
Around 60% of European steel production is via BF and around 40% via EAF, according to industry association Eurofer. Germany produced about 35.4 million metric tons of steel in 2023, down 4% year on year, of which 9.8 MMt was produced via EAF and 25.63 MMt via BF.
Steelmakers plan to replace BFs with hydrogen-based DRI, with most DRI plants in Germany to be paired with an EAF (see map).
Salzgitter, Stahl-Holding-Saar and Thyssenkrupp have all issued tenders to source large volumes of low-carbon hydrogen for their steel production from later in the decade.
These companies, along with ArcelorMittal, received state funding commitments in 2023 and 2024 under the EU’s Important Projects of Common European Interest program on hydrogen and low-carbon technologies.
Powering up
The switch will see a huge leap in renewable power demand.
The German steel industry’s current electricity demand from the grid is 12 TWh, according to WV Stahl. This could double by 2030 to 24 TWh, with crude steel production estimated around 42 MMt/y. Further green electricity will be required to power electrolysis, of around 28-29 TWh.
While being a large increase, those figures are a relatively small fraction of German power demand of around 500 TWh in 2023, forecast to rise to 649 TWh in 2030, according to Commodity Insights data.
European steelmakers are already marketing low-carbon steel products. Platts launched its daily carbon-accounted steel premium assessment in May 2023, which reflects any differential achieved for spot sales of hot-rolled coil on an ex-works basis, with total accounted carbon emissions of 2.1 t of CO2, or less, for every metric ton of steel produced.
ArcelorMittal calls for internationally competitive prices for renewable energies, hydrogen
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has called for guaranteed internationally competitive prices for renewable energies and hydrogen in sufficient quantities in the long term for Germany to successfully transition to carbon-neutral steel production.
The steelmaker May 17 called for a clear industrial policy, saying that the necessary economic policy framework needed to be put in place more quickly by Germany and the EU.
“Despite significant progress and an EU-approved funding commitment from the German government for the planned decarbonization projects at the flat steel sites in Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt, the company is facing challenges, particularly due to high energy and hydrogen costs,” it said, adding that competitive energy prices were a significant factor in its final investment decision to decarbonize production in Germany.
ArcelorMittal said CO2-neutral pig iron production required a hydrogen price of around Eur2/kg to remain competitive, but hydrogen prices were Eur7-9/kg. It said it was also difficult to operate EAFs economically in the long term due to high electricity prices.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the cost of green hydrogen production via alkaline electrolysis in Germany, backed by renewable power purchase agreements, at Eur6.58/kg ($7.13/kg) on May 16, down from Eur7.77/kg a month before.
The assessment reflects one possible pathway for producing EU Renewable Energy Directive-compliant green hydrogen.
The recent debut auction under the EU’s European Hydrogen Bank, providing subsidy support for green hydrogen production, cleared at below 50 euro cent/kg, with seven projects totaling 1.5 GW in Iberia and the Nordics the winners.
The winning bids demonstrated both the competitive locations for green power production, along with a willingness of end users to pay a premium for the renewable hydrogen.
There were also several bids from projects in Germany for well under Eur1.50/kg, EC data showed.
Carbon neutral by 2050
ArcelorMittal aims to reduce its CO2 emissions in Europe by 35% by 2030 and reach carbon-neutral production globally by 2050.
In Germany, the company is converting its blast furnace technology to natural gas to reduce emissions and plans to eventually move to hydrogen-based direct reduction and electric arc furnaces.
In February, the German government announced Eur1.3 billion support ArcelorMittal’s plan to build EAFs in Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt, as well as a direct reduction plant in Bremen.
The steelmaker said at the time the use of green hydrogen could result in savings of more than 6.3 million mt/year of CO2 by 2030 and produce 3.4 million mt of CO2-reduced steel in both plants.
“Decarbonizing our production is a top priority for us, but the current costs and future price forecasts for energy and hydrogen pose a considerable challenge,” ArcelorMittal Germany CEO of the flat steel plants in Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt Thomas Bunger said in the statement.
“An industrial policy aimed at reducing these costs is crucial for our success and the success of the entire industry,” he said.
“We need the rapid expansion of renewable energies and the development of domestic hydrogen production while at the same time increasing hydrogen imports in order for the transformation to succeed,” ArcelorMittal Europe Vice President Lutz Bandusch said.
The steelmaker said establishing a “green lead market” was crucial to the viability of producing CO2-reduced steel competitively, while labeling initiatives could also be helpful to set additional incentives, such as in public tenders and government procurement.
ArcelorMittal also called for “decisive action” at national and EU levels against distortions of competition, which it said would include closing the remaining weaknesses in Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to reduce the risk of part of the industrial value chain migrating outside Europe.
“ArcelorMittal remains firmly committed to achieving CO2-neutral production worldwide by 2050. Active support through government measures is essential for the transition to a sustainable future,” it said.
ArcelorMittal produces CO2-reduced steel under its XCarb brand and subscribes to the ResponsibleSteel standard, which guarantees socially and environmentally responsible supply chains and production methods, it said.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic HRC prices in Northern Europe at Eur630/mt ex-works Ruhr May 16, down 8.7% since the start of 2024.
Authors: Jacqueline Holman, jacqueline.holman@spglobal.com, James Burgess, james.burgess@spglobal.com
EC approves €6.9 billion state aid for H2 infrastructure
The European Commission approved on Thursday €6.9 billion ($7.4 billion) in state aid funding for hydrogen infrastructure-related projects in seven EU countries, Kallanish reports.
The so-called IPCEI Hy2Infra scheme was planned by France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia. It awards 32 companies, including five SMEs, and 33 projects in areas of electrolysis, pipelines, storage and handling terminals.
“While the renewable hydrogen supply chain in Europe is still in a nascent phase, Hy2Infra will deploy the initial building blocks of an integrated and open renewable hydrogen network,” comments Margrethe Vestager, EC vice president in charge of competition policy. “This IPCEI will establish the first regional infrastructure clusters in several member states and prepare the ground for future interconnections across Europe, in line with the European Hydrogen Strategy.”
The public funding is expected to unlock another €5.4 billion in private investments. The projects cover the deployment of around 3.2 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity; construction of 2,700 kilometres of transmission and distribution pipelines; development of 370 gigawatt-hours of hydrogen storage capacity; and construction of handling terminals and port infrastructure to handle 6,000 tonnes/year of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC).
The electrolysers should be operational between 2026 and 2028, and the pipelines between 2027 and 2029. The timelines will vary depending on locations, projects and companies, but the EC expects overall completion in 2029.
According to the awards list seen by Kallanish, the majority of projects are based in Germany (24). The country had project approvals in all four Hy2Infra workstreams, with 10 for electrolysers and nine for pipelines. Some of the companies granted support include Air Liquide, EWE Hydrogen, Linde, Lingen, Thyssengas, Gasunie, AquaDuctus, VNG and Hydrogenious.
The West Germany cluster, for instance, will have three electrolysers built in the Rhine-Ruhr area. It will be connected to three different pipeline projects and have access to a storage facility. According to Vestager, by mid-2027, the renewable hydrogen produced in the cluster will be supplied to companies operating in the steel, cement, chemical, refining, and mobility sectors. The cluster will also connect to the Dutch national hydrogen network, she notes.
“For a successful roll-out of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, all pieces of the puzzle need to come together,” adds commissioner Thierry Breton.
The EU has previously approved two other Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) state aid schemes – the Hy2Tech in July 2022 and the Hy2Use in September 2022.
France, Germany, Poland and Portugal included their participation in their Recovery and Resilience Plans, thus can partially fund some of their projects through the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The amount granted to each company and project will be made public by the EC later, once any confidential business secrets are removed from the EC’s decision documents.