Thyssenkrupp is preparing a tender to purchase up to 151,000 mt/year of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen under 10-year contracts, with lower volumes starting from 2028, for pipeline delivery to its Duisburg steelworks in Germany.
The steelmaker will seek an expected 104,000 mt of hydrogen in 2028, rising to 143,000 mt/year over 2029-35 before reaching 151,000 mt/year over 2036-37 as it seeks to decarbonize the plant.
The tendered volumes must meet the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive requirements for renewable hydrogen and low-carbon hydrogen under current provisions on CO2 emissions reductions, it said in a tender information document.
A first phase of the tender will open in February, with requests for information from interested companies, a Thyssenkrupp spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights Jan. 23.
“With this tender, we want to kick-start the market for green hydrogen and create the necessary infrastructure to supply our Duisburg site with hydrogen,” the company said.
In a second phase, Thyssenkrupp will issue requests for proposals in the second quarter of 2024 before a request for quotations in the third quarter.
The hydrogen price will be determined during the tendering process, the company told S&P Global.
The Duisburg steel plant will be connected to Germany’s planned national hydrogen pipeline network at an early stage, Thyssenkrupp said on its website.
The planned pipeline between Dorsten and the Duisburg district of Hamborn will provide a secure connection to the hydrogen network, with links envisaged to Rotterdam by 2030, it added.
Germany has committed Eur20 billion to constructing its core 10,000-km pipeline, expected online by 2032, with 13 cross-border interconnection points.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the cost of producing hydrogen via alkaline electrolysis in Europe at Eur4.80/kg ($5.21/kg) Jan. 22 (Netherlands, including capex), based on month-ahead power prices. Proton exchange membrane electrolysis production was assessed at Eur5.74/kg, while blue hydrogen production by steam methane reforming (including carbon, CCS and capex) was assessed at Eur2.52/kg.
Author James Burgess, james.burgess@
