Hydrogen powered steel plant headed to France

Hydrogen powered steel plant headed to France

February 25, 2021 0 By Erin Kilgore

The plans are in development for a major H2-based facility following an MoU signing.

Major hydrogen powered steel plant plans are in development with the intention of installing the facility in France.

Paul Wurth, Liberty Steel Group, and Stahl-Holding-Saar (SHS) have signed an MoU.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed for the assessment of the building and operation of the hydrogen powered steel plant facility. This collaboration between Paul Wurth, Liberty Steel Group, and SHS is expected to result in a first of its kind plant in France.

The companies expect that once the plans are fully developed, their collaboration will result in a two million tonne direct reduce iron (DRI) facility with an integrated hydrogen electrolysis production unit with a 1-gigawatt capacity.

At first, this DRI plant will use a combination of H2 and natural gas as its DRI production reductant, and hot-briquetted iron (HBI). That said, over time, it will transition its way to the use of 100 percent H2 upon the completion of the electrolysis production unit.

The hydrogen powered steel plant plans must still improve the project’s commercial and technical feasibility.

The DRI and HBI produced through this facility will be mainly used within the LIBERTY Ascoval electric arc furnace in France. Should there be surplus, it will be used at LIBERTY’s Galati andOstrava integrated steelworks in addition to the Dillinger and Saarstahl plants owned by SHS group in Germany.

Paul Wurth, SHS and LIBERTY have been working together since early 2020 to establish the economic and technical viability of moving ahead with this project. The foundation work has been completed, allowing the participants to move on to the first and second phases of the project.

The first phase of this project will involve accuracy improvements for the commercial and technical feasibility of the project. This includes potential partners, the reducing gas mix, and funding opportunities. According to the group, phase one should take around 12 weeks to complete.

Hydrogen powered steel plant - old steel millThe second phase will follow, delivering the level of detail needed on a technical and financial level, for the effective implementation of this hydrogen powered steel plant project.

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