Metals & Minerals Industry Tests Power-to-Hydrogen Solution for Decarbonization

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The push to decarbonize is leading to a growing list of "green hydrogen" projects in the Metals & Minerals Industry. Industrial Info is monitoring about $1 billion worth of related "Power-to-X" projects worldwide, all of which involve a power-to-hydrogen process.

Power-to-X essentially refers to a number of process pathways and technologies used to convert electricity--preferably renewable energy--into products that can eliminate or supplement fossil-fuel use. Many companies in the Metals & Minerals Industry are converting renewable energy to hydrogen via proven water electrolysis technology. The hydrogen is then used to replace fossil fuels at mines, steel mills or other heavy carbon-emitting facilities.

In the mining sector, companies such as Anglo American plc (London, England) are testing the technology to replace haul-truck diesel engines with hydrogen fuel cells. At a mine in South Africa, Anglo American is constructing a demonstration project, which eventually could be expanded to include a large onsite hydrogen electrolyzer. Its fleet of 40 Komatsu haul trucks could be converted to use fuel cells over the next three years. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Mining & Minerals Project Database can read detailed reports on the initial project and its possible expansion.

The majority of the Power-to-X projects are being developed in Europe. But if successful, the trend could emerge in other regions. Almost all of Europe's steelmakers are planning decarbonization programs to replace coal and other fossil fuels in one of the largest carbon-emitting industries.

Steelmakers including AcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) (Luxembourg, Luxembourg), Salzgitter Steel (Salzgitter, Germany), SSAB (Stockholm, Sweden) and Tata Steel (Mumbai, India) are looking at power-to-hydrogen solutions to eliminate coal use in the front-end iron-making process, where hydrogen can replace coal (metallurgical coke) as a reductant. If the process proves beneficial, entire steel mills could be converted to the power-to-hydrogen process.

In Sweden, a consortium of steel and energy companies, including SSAB, LKAB (Lulea, Sweden) and Vattenfall AB (Solna Municipality, Sweden), have partnered to create Hybrit, which produces iron with hydrogen instead of coke. Hybrit and similar decarbonization iron-making technologies have a long road to go before they have any significant impact on reducing carbon emissions, with many technical and financial hurdles ahead. The companies involved estimate Hybrit requires 15 terawatt-hours per year of electricity, which is equivalent to a 1,712-megawatt power plant for a single steel mill. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.