H2 Green Steel - When 100% Carbon-Free Steel is No Longer Fiction!
H2 GREEN STEEL When 100% Carbon-Free Steel is No Longer Fiction! A technological revolution is on the horizon, and the expression "green steel" can no longer be seen as an oxymoron... The Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel is on its way to meeting the challenge.It is now more than urgent to defuse the climate time bomb that threatens the life of our planet. To achieve this, there is constant talk of decarbonizing all economic sectors. Given the risks we are exposed to - risks mainly linked to human activities - decarbonizing is obviously not an option. However, some heavy industrial sectors are particularly difficult to decarbonize, especially STEEL.Problem: the "classic" steel industry alone accounts for between 7 and 9% of global CO2 emissions, with emissions of around 2 tons of CO2 per ton of steel produced from coal and natural gas.
By raising 1.5 billion euros of equity in September 2023, the Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel has acquired the means to achieve the objective it has set itself since its creation in 2020: to become the first producer of 100% carbon-free steel on an industrial scale. Its slogan: "Powering a new, clean industrial revolution
"The challenge that the Swedish group H2 Green Steel is preparing to take up is therefore immense. The steel produced by its new plant based in Boden, in northern Sweden - the first green steel plant in Europe for more than 50 years - will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 95% compared to steel produced with traditional blast furnace technology, thanks to the replacement of coal (used to deoxidize iron ore) in the production process by green hydrogen, produced on site with Europe's largest electrolyzer, using electricity from renewable sources, with Sweden being able to rely on large quantities of renewable energy, in particular hydroelectric and wind power, which account for 60.1% of its energy mix.
"We have created the green steel market," says Henrik Henriksson, CEO of the Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel. And he adds: "We also have a project in Portugal or Spain with Iberdrola, and another in Brazil. So we will be constantly looking for funds in the years to come." This is an essential point: a global problem requires a global solution. Cleantechs need significant funding to build mature and sustainable sectors, and to be deployed all over the planet.
"The sector will require substantial investments over the next few decades to enable our customers to manufacture green end products and thus achieve their climate objectives," said Otto Gernandt, CFO of H2 Green Steel.
H2 Green Steel plans to start production at the end of 2025, hoping to initially deliver 2.5 million metric tons of decarbonized steel per year, before increasing to 5 million.
