{"id":15573,"date":"2024-08-29T15:04:19","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T15:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1409783"},"modified":"2024-08-29T15:04:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T15:04:19","slug":"swedens-been-stealthily-using-hydrogen-to-forge-green-steel-now-its-ready-to-industrialise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=15573","title":{"rendered":"Sweden\u2019s been stealthily using hydrogen to forge green steel. Now it\u2019s ready to industrialise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deep in Sweden\u2019s icy north sits a small factory where the country\u2019s largest industrial players have been steadily validating a new technology that could clean up one of the dirtiest industries on Earth. <\/span><\/p>\n

Energy giant Vattenfall, steel-maker SSAB, and mining firm LKAB<\/span> built the facility \u2014 located in the small town of Lule\u00e5 \u2014 in 2020, as part of the <\/span>HYBRIT project. The initiative aims to prove that steel can be made on an industrial scale using hydrogen and clean electricity. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUsing hydrogen to produce steel is still in its very early stages,\u201d an SSAB representative told TNW. \u201cIt represents only a tiny fraction of today\u2019s steel production.\u201d But that might be about to change.  <\/span><\/p>\n

How do you make steel using hydrogen?  <\/b><\/h2>\n

Steel is one of the world\u2019s <\/span>most used<\/span><\/a> materials. And its production is responsible for 11% of global CO2 emissions. Most of these emissions are produced when heating and reducing iron \u2014 the core component of steel \u2014 in a blast furnace using coal and coke (a refined type of coal, not the soft drink). <\/span><\/p>\n

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As we wrapped up our incredible 2024 edition, we’re pleased to announce our return to Amsterdam NDSM in 2025. Registration now!<\/p>\n

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The HYBRIT technology, however, doesn\u2019t use a<\/span> blast furnace at all. It uses hydrogen instead of coke in a process called direct reduction. <\/span>This reduces iron oxides to metallic iron without melting it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The hydrogen reacts with the oxygen in iron ore, producing so-called \u201csponge iron.\u201d The only byproduct is water vapour.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A piece of fossil-free sponge iron with the Hybrit pilot plant in the background. Credit: Hybrit<\/figcaption>