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Released October 14, 2019 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Construction of a new storage facility for hydrogen has been funded to the tune of 200 million Swedish kroner ($20 million) at the Luleå steel plant in Sweden, the world's first project for creating fossil-free steel.
The new storage facility will support the HYBRIT pilot plant for fossil-free steel being developed by Swedish energy major Vattenfall (Stockholm), steel producer SSAB (NASDAQ OMX:SSAB A) (Stockholm, Sweden) and Sweden's state-owned mining giant LKAB (Luleå), which is Europe's largest iron ore producer. The HYBRIT process is based on direct reduction of iron ore using fossil-free energy and hydrogen gas (H2). Hydrogen gas is produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy.
The hydrogen gas storage facility will sit 25-35 metres below the ground surface on LKAB's land in Svartöberget, close to the pilot plant currently under construction on SSAB's site in Luleå. The storage facility, which will be located a bedrock cavern with a steel lining as a sealing layer, is expected to operate from 2022 to 2024. Vattenfall and SSAB have committed two-thirds of the funding, with the rest coming from the Swedish Energy Agency.
"Large, complex and expensive leaps in technology need to be taken for the sake of the climate, to achieve the goal of zero net emissions," commented Robert Andrén, director general of the Swedish Energy Agency. "Large-scale storage of hydrogen gas will be an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle for a fossil-free value chain for steel manufacturing, but also in a future electricity system with an increasing proportion of weather-dependent power."
"The HYBRIT initiative gives us the opportunity to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions completely, and to lead the work of developing fossil-free steel products," added Martin Lindqvist, SSAB's president and chief executive officer.
Earlier this year, Industrial Info reported that the developers of the HYBRIT initiative purchased a hydrogen generation electrolyzer solution from Nel Hydrogen. For additional information, see May 14, 2019, article - World's First Hydrogen-based Steel Project Moves Forward.
The HYBRIT pilot plant will operate from 2021-2024, followed by scaling up the manufacturing by building a demonstration plant in 2025, with the target of full-scale implementation by 2035.
In related news, Industrial Info reported in May that Vattenfall announced it was joining efforts to build Europe's largest hydrogen fuel production plant (20 megawatts) at Preem's refinery on the island of Hisingen outside the city of Gothenburg. For additional information, see May 20, 2019, article - Swedish Refinery Plans Europe's Largest Hydrogen Plant.
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. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The new storage facility will support the HYBRIT pilot plant for fossil-free steel being developed by Swedish energy major Vattenfall (Stockholm), steel producer SSAB (NASDAQ OMX:SSAB A) (Stockholm, Sweden) and Sweden's state-owned mining giant LKAB (Luleå), which is Europe's largest iron ore producer. The HYBRIT process is based on direct reduction of iron ore using fossil-free energy and hydrogen gas (H2). Hydrogen gas is produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy.
The hydrogen gas storage facility will sit 25-35 metres below the ground surface on LKAB's land in Svartöberget, close to the pilot plant currently under construction on SSAB's site in Luleå. The storage facility, which will be located a bedrock cavern with a steel lining as a sealing layer, is expected to operate from 2022 to 2024. Vattenfall and SSAB have committed two-thirds of the funding, with the rest coming from the Swedish Energy Agency.
"Large, complex and expensive leaps in technology need to be taken for the sake of the climate, to achieve the goal of zero net emissions," commented Robert Andrén, director general of the Swedish Energy Agency. "Large-scale storage of hydrogen gas will be an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle for a fossil-free value chain for steel manufacturing, but also in a future electricity system with an increasing proportion of weather-dependent power."
"The HYBRIT initiative gives us the opportunity to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions completely, and to lead the work of developing fossil-free steel products," added Martin Lindqvist, SSAB's president and chief executive officer.
Earlier this year, Industrial Info reported that the developers of the HYBRIT initiative purchased a hydrogen generation electrolyzer solution from Nel Hydrogen. For additional information, see May 14, 2019, article - World's First Hydrogen-based Steel Project Moves Forward.
The HYBRIT pilot plant will operate from 2021-2024, followed by scaling up the manufacturing by building a demonstration plant in 2025, with the target of full-scale implementation by 2035.
In related news, Industrial Info reported in May that Vattenfall announced it was joining efforts to build Europe's largest hydrogen fuel production plant (20 megawatts) at Preem's refinery on the island of Hisingen outside the city of Gothenburg. For additional information, see May 20, 2019, article - Swedish Refinery Plans Europe's Largest Hydrogen Plant.
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. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
