H2 Green Steel
Rio
Tinto and H2
Green Steel have signed a multi-year supply agreement for high-grade
direct reduction iron ore pellets from Rio Tinto's Iron Ore Company of Canada
(IOC) operations. Rio Tinto will also purchase and on-sell a part of the
surplus low-carbon hot briquetted iron (HBI) produced by H2 Green Steel during
the ramp-up of its steelmaking capacity.
IOC's
direct reduction pellets will account for a significant part of the iron ore
supply to H2 Green Steel's flagship plant in Boden, Sweden. H2 Green Steel says
that the plant in Boden will be one of the world's first large-scale producers
of low-carbon iron and steel.
The
fully integrated, digitalized, and circular plant is expected to start
operations in 2025, processing direct reduction pellets into HBI and then
making steel through electric arc furnaces using green hydrogen. The Boden site
will hold what H2 Green Steel says is one of the world's largest electrolysis
plants for green hydrogen production.
The
production of steel currently contributes around eight percent of global carbon
emissions. By using green hydrogen in electric arc furnaces instead of coal in
traditional steelmaking with a blast furnace, CO2 emissions can be reduced by
up to 95 percent.
"This
is a significant milestone for our project in Boden," adds H2 Green Steel
Chief Executive Officer Henrik Henriksson. "Not only by securing a supply
of the high-quality iron ore needed for our green steel production but also
because we have a buyer for a portion of the HBI we initially expect to
produce."
"We
are partnering across the steel ecosystem to find better ways to support the
decarbonization of iron and steel making, and to reduce our scope 3
emissions," says Rio Tinto Head of Steel Decarbonisation Simon Farry.
"Our supply of high-grade iron ore pellets will support the acceleration
of H2 Green Steel's project, and on-selling their low-carbon HBI will enable us
to gain a deeper understanding of the future needs of our customers and end
users in the emerging green iron and steel market."