Under a freshly inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies will study and trial the use of iron ore products from Anglo American’s Kumba mines in South Africa and Minas Rio in Brazil as a feedstock for H2 Green Steel’s hydrogen-powered direct reduced iron (DRI) production process.
The companies have said the possibility of using lump iron could complement the iron pellets needed for DRI, which could increase the flexibility of H2 Green Steel’s production process at its plant in Boden, Sweden.
Last October (2022), H2 Green Steel partnered with Midrex to integrate its DRI technology into the Boden plant, which is expected to produce up to 2.1 million tonnes of hot DRI and hot briquetted iron (HBI) per year, feeding the initial production of 2.5 million tonnes of green steel.
Read more: H2 Green Steel partners with Midrex for DRI technology
“Our work with H2 Green Steel will focus on exploring way for premium, responsibly produced iron ore form our operations to be used as feedstock in the Boden plant slow-carbon production process, paving the way to a cleaner, greener way to produce steel,” said Peter Whitcutt, CEO of Anglo American’s Marketing Business.
Luisa Orre, Chief Procurement Officer at H2 Green Steel, continued, “Our purpose is to decarbonise hard to abate sectors, and this is only possible with strong partnerships along the value chain with a true commitment to reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
“We are impressed by Anglo American’s efforts to bring high-quality iron ore products to customers which focus on low carbon iron and steelmaking, and we look forward to continue working with them, not only for our first green hydrogen integrated steel plant in Sweden but for other future locations globally.”
Anglo American has previously explored the potential for hydrogen playing a role in its mining operations. In May last year, the company revealed a prototype of the ‘world’s largest’ hydrogen-powered mine haulage truck.
Read more: Anglo American reveals the ‘world’s largest’ hydrogen-powered mine haulage truck in South Africa
With a 290-tonne payload capacity, the mammoth machine was powered by a 2MW hydrogen-battery hybrid system, which the company said generates more power than its diesel predecessor.
Green is the new black: An interview with H2 Green Steel
©H2 Green Steel
From the buildings you live in, the cars you drive, appliances in your house, to the equipment manufacturing our goods, steel makes up some part of it, making its way into all of our daily lives. With 1,950.5 million tonnes produced in 2021, according to the World Steel Association1, it appears to be one of the most intertwined materials in our societies.
Despite the high demand and use, steel production remains to be highly emission-intensive, with The Industry Transition reporting that annual steel production generates approximately three billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, accounting for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions2.
Our reliance on the material and continuation of using carbon-heavy production methods pose a strong threat to goals of meeting Net Zero emissions by 2050. However, in recent years the possibilities to decarbonise this hard-to-abate sector have grown thanks to the development of hydrogen technologies.
One company forging the way for a greener steel industry is Sweden-based, H2 Green Steel. Its story started at a board meeting of Northvolt, a Swedish green battery cell producer, founded by Vargas, an impact company builder that claims to challenge old truths and conventional ways of working…
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