【Ferro-alloys.com】Carbon neutrality promotes the EU government has successively introduced a number of policies to promote the low-carbon energy transition of the steel industry, and major European steel companies have also put forward their own carbon emission reduction targets. ArcelorMittal (hereinafter referred to as Armi) plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; Swedish Steel Corporation (SSAB) plans to achieve fossil-free steelmaking by 2045; ThyssenKrupp (hereinafter referred to as Thyssen) promises By 2030, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% from current levels, and increase green steel production to 3 million tons; British Steel plans to be the first to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2040.

       So, how about the progress of key projects of low-carbon metallurgy in major European steel companies?

       At present, major European steel companies have successively formulated their own low-carbon metallurgical project breakthrough schedules:

       SSAB's non-fossil fuel-free HYBRIT pilot plant was put into operation on August 31, 2020, and the first HYBRIT demonstration plant is planned to be put into operation in 2025. In addition, SSAB plans to complete the transformation of all the blast furnaces of the plant from 2030 to 2040, and to achieve complete fossil-fuel-free steelmaking by 2045.

       Voestalpine's H2FUTURE green hydrogen pilot plant was put into operation in November 2019. In addition, the HYFOR hydrogen-based powder ore reduction pilot plant jointly developed by voestalpine and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was put into operation at the end of 2020.

       Anmi completed the first sale of green steel in December 2020, and plans to achieve a sales volume of over 600,000 tons of green steel in 2022. On March 18, Anmi announced the launch of the XCarb plan. The plan aims to integrate all current low-carbon metallurgy and green innovation projects of Arimitsu into an overall plan in order to achieve carbon neutrality more efficiently. Anmi’s main projects in the "smart carbon use" technology path include: the Carbon2Value project carried out from 2017 to 2021, which aims to develop low-carbon technology and convert waste gas such as carbon dioxide generated in the steel production process and apply it to new values Chain; plans to put into operation in 2022 Torero demonstration plant (converting waste wood into bio-coal), Steelanol demonstration plant (using blast furnace waste gas to produce bio-ethanol). In addition, in February, Gijon (Gijon) in Spain successfully completed the blast furnace hydrogen-rich coke oven gas test. Amy’s main projects in the “carbon direct avoidance” technology path include: a hydrogen-based direct reduction technology demonstration plant that is in the design and financing stage; the SIDERWIN project, which will be completed in 2022, and the project’s “direct electrolytic iron ore” project. "The pilot line will also be put into production next year. Anmi will combine the three forms of "clean power", "recycling carbon" and "carbon capture and storage (CCS)" to achieve carbon neutrality more quickly.

       Tata Company began industrial trials on the HIsarna project (direct use of pulverized coal and smelting reduction technology) in 2018, and plans to establish a second pilot plant with an annual capacity of 400,000 to 700,000 tons in India this year. . The HIsarna process eliminates high-emission processes such as sintering and coking. Some studies believe that if the process used in the project is integrated with carbon capture, utilization and storage technology, it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% to 90%, or it will become another mainstream that can be compared with green hydrogen-based direct reduction technology. Technology path. In addition, Tata's Athos project (processing exhaust gas into chemical raw materials) plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons by 2027; in 2030, it will build an industry with an annual production capacity of 1 million to 1.5 million tons in the Netherlands. Level demonstration production line.

       Thyssen completed the hydrogen injection test of Duisburg No. 9 blast furnace on November 11, 2019. It plans to put into operation the first plant using the green hydrogen-based direct reduction process in 2025, with an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons. At the same time, it plans to increase the plant's production capacity to 3 million tons per year in 2030.

       The Swedish Mining Group (LKAB) plans to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2045, and plans to transform from an iron ore supplier to a sponge iron supplier that applies the green hydrogen-based direct reduction process.

       The Swedish company H2GS announced in March that it will build a large-scale non-fossil energy steelmaking plant in northern Sweden. The project also plans to build a giga-scale green hydrogen production plant, which is scheduled to be put into operation in 2024, and the annual production capacity will reach 5 million tons of high-quality steel by 2030. The total financing for the first phase of the project is approximately 2.5 billion euros, which is raised through a combination of equity and green project financing.

       The coupling of low-carbon technology and related industries in European steel companies

       The coupling of low-carbon technology and green hydrogen production industry.

       According to the Hydrogen Europe (Hydrogen Europe) research, investment in the hydrogen industry is concentrated in three areas: the field of hydrogen production and preparation, the construction of hydrogen transportation infrastructure and storage facilities, and the application of hydrogen.

       At present, the annual production scale of the European hydrogen preparation market is about 11.5 million tons, and most of it is gray hydrogen (based on traditional energy). The European Commission plans to expand the electrolyzer capacity to 6 GW by 2024, which can produce 1 million tons of green hydrogen; by 2030, it will reach 40 GW, which can produce 10 million tons of green hydrogen. The European Hydrogen Energy Alliance plans to complete the technical layout of the hydrogen industry chain by 2030, integrating the entire industrial chain of green hydrogen and blue hydrogen, including manufacturing, use, transportation, and distribution. The current cost price of gray hydrogen is 1.5 euros/kg, the cost price of blue hydrogen is 2 euros/kg, and the cost price of green hydrogen is currently up to 5.5 euros/kg. It is generally predicted in the European steel industry that green hydrogen will be cost-competitive with blue hydrogen approximately by 2030.

       In terms of green hydrogen production technology, there are currently three mature technologies: proton exchange membrane technology, alkaline water electrolysis technology, and solid oxide electrolysis technology.

       Thyssen’s first green hydrogen project has now been awarded an engineering contract for the construction of an 88 MW electrolysis water plant with an annual output of 11,100 tons of green hydrogen for the Quebec Hydropower Company in Canada. The commissioning of the electrolyzed water plant is planned to be carried out in the second half of 2023. In addition, Thyssen has also cooperated with STEAG Energy to establish an electrolysis water plant at Thyssen’s Duisburg STEAG plant. The green hydrogen produced by the plant will be used in Thyssen’s own hydrogen metallurgical process.

       The German steel manufacturer Salzgitter has now installed the world's largest high-temperature electrolyzer. The facility has a rated output of 720 Kelvin and can produce 200 standard cubic meters of hydrogen per hour. The WindH2 project is Salzgitter's research and development of low carbon dioxide steelmaking technology SALCOS? The cornerstone of the project is to replace the carbon required to smelt iron ore with hydrogen produced from renewable energy. Salzgitter plans to complete the company's low-carbon energy transition in 2050, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 95%.

       In addition, seven companies including Salzgitter and Thyssen have formed an alliance and plan to establish a hydrogen economic industrial chain in 2024. The industrial chain will cover all links from green hydrogen manufacturing, transportation, storage to industrial applications. The project is planned to be advanced step by step from 2024 to 2030, and is currently seeking public funding assistance through the European Common Interest Key Project Program (IPCEI).

       In terms of blue hydrogen production technology, Thyssen has cooperated with the Norwegian energy company Equinor and the natural gas transmission system operator OGE to carry out the H2morrow joint project research. The project aims to use natural gas to produce blue hydrogen and permanently store carbon dioxide at sea. It is reported that the value chain of the entire project is expected to be established as early as 2027.

       Coupling of low-carbon technology and green energy industry.

       Green energy is the basis for making green hydrogen. Therefore, while European steel companies are involved in the field of hydrogen production, they are also gradually involved in the field of green energy, including onshore wind energy, offshore wind energy, and solar energy.

       At present, Salzgitter is building a wind power generation facility connected with hydrogen electrolysis, with a total installed capacity of 30 MW, including 7 wind turbines, of which 3 will be built at the Flachstahl plant in Salzgitter, and the other 4 will be built at the company’s Other factories.

       The coupling of low-carbon technology and the chemical industry.

       The carbon capture and utilization process can use waste gas such as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide produced by steelmaking as raw materials in the chemical industry to produce fuels, fertilizers and other valuable products.

       "INITIATE" is an innovative industrial transformation project between the European steel industry and the chemical industry. It will develop a new type of collaborative cycle technology to convert the residual carbon-rich gas in the steel industry into high-purity urea. At present, the EU government has allocated 21 million euros to aid and encourage the establishment of industrial symbiosis between the steel industry and the chemical industry. The project was officially launched in November 2020 and is expected to last for 4 to 5 years.

• [Editor:zhaozihao]