Facility could produce 1.6 million tonnes of zero carbon steel by 2025.
ArcelorMittal says its Sestao facility in Spain will become the world’s first full-scale zero carbon emissions steel plant.
The development is the result of a deal signed with the Government of Spain that will see an investment of €1bln in the construction of a green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) plant in Gijón, as well as a new hybrid-electric arc furnace (EAF).
It is hoped that by 2025, the Sestao plant – which manufactures a range of flat steel products for the automotive and construction sectors, and general industry – will produce 1.6 million tonnes of zero carbon emissions steel.
The company aims to achieve this by changing the metallic input by increasing the proportion of circular, recycled scrap, and using green hydrogen-produced DRI from Gijón in its two existing EAFs; powering all steelmaking assets (EAFs, rolling mill, finishing lines) with renewable electricity; and introducing several key emerging technologies that will replace the small, remaining use of fossil fuel in the steelmaking process with carbon-neutral energy inputs, such as sustainable biomass or green hydrogen.
Central to this development will be the construction of a 2.3 million tonne green hydrogen DRI unit in Gijón. Around 1 million tonnes of DRI will be transported to Sestao to be used as a feedstock for its two EAFs.
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