Sweden To Get Large Scale Zero Emission Steel Mill

The biggest source carbon emissions is probably not what you think it is. Manufacturing things generally involve multiple processes where emissions are higher than you think they might be. Take the manufacturing of steel. Blast furnaces use significant amounts of energy and the burning of coke in the molten steel results in further emissions. 

The result is that steel production is responsible for 8% of all global emissions; which compared to the 14% of emissions which originate from all transport looks like something which needs to be addresses.

Fortunately there is an alternative process which uses hydrogen to replace the coke in a blast furnace and to power electric arc furnaces which are used in the manufacture of higher quality or specialist application steels. Car bodies for example.

The process is going to be used in large scale manufacturing for the first time at a plant in Northern Sweden, marking the first step in greening the worldwide production of steel. H2 Green Steel of Sweden will begin production using hydrogen extracted locally  using zero emission energy sources; with first production of zero emission steel planned for 2024.

By 2030 H2 Green Steel plans to be producing five million tons a year. How does this stack up in terms of global production? Honestly it doesn't. Globally we're approaching the point where two billion tons of steel will be manufactured each year, so H2's output will be the dictionary definition of a drop in the ocean.

However, if H2 can prove the process is a commercial success there is hope that wider industry adoption of the process will follow. This will depend upon the availability of industrial quantities of green hydrogen - something which is itself some way off.