Thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe will offtake up to 100,000 tonnes of hydrogen-based flat steel per year from Hydnum Steel’s planned plant in Puertollano, Spain.
Under a seven-year deal, green steel from Hydnum will power Thyssenkrupp’s push to decarbonise its supply chains across automotive, construction and appliances – being one of the world’s top mill-independent materials distributors and service providers.
By partnering with Hydnum Steel, the German energy firm can expand its offering of sustainable steel and meet rising customer demand for greener materials.
“Interest in clean steel is growing rapidly,” explained Marcus Wöhl, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Materials Processing. “We need partners like Hydnum to offer solutions that combine sustainability and innovation.”
The seven-year supply agreement will begin once the Puertollano plant is operational. Last July, the €1.65bn ($1.78bn) plant secured Spanish government support to ensure phases one and two of construction begin between 2026 and 2029.
Once operational, the facility is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by almost five million tonnes per year.
The Spanish company has already secured a €80m ($86m) deal with Germany’s Knauf Interfer for green steel supply from the Puertollano plant.
Commenting on the deal with Thyssenkrupp, Eva Maneiro, CEO of Hydnum Steel, said, “We are building something more than steel; we are setting the standard for what it means to be sustainable in the 21st century and demonstrating that it is possible to produce steel another way”.
Steel produced using green hydrogen could cost up to twice as much as conventional steel, yet industry reports suggest that refineries will play a key role in scaling hydrogen supply, with green steel emerging as a major demand driver.
Thyssenkrupp itself has encountered challenges with hydrogen supply in its own steel plant in Germany, however. Last month, the group’s CEO Miguel Lopez warned that the company’s €3bn ($3.3bn) hydrogen-based facility risks becoming a stranded asset unless the country can secure adequate supplies of green hydrogen.
Will DRI be key to producing sustainable steel?
Steel production accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions1, making it one of the most polluting industries. With around 1.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions per tonne of steel produced2, against a backdrop of increasing environmental concerns, the need to clean up the process that produces a vitally important material only continues to grow.
Steel, in the most basic sense, is made by mixing carbon and iron at temperatures above 1,400˚C. Primary steelmaking uses a product dubbed Pig Iron – smelted iron from ore, which contains more carbon than needed for steel.
Steelmakers can use a system that bubbles oxygen through molten pig iron, creating equal oxidisation throughout the metal, in doing so, removing excess carbon, while also vaporising or binding impurities made up of elements such as silicon, phosphorus and manganese.
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