Green hydrogen is produced in a process called electrolysis. In simple terms, electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. When the electricity powering this process comes entirely from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydropower, the hydrogen is considered green. The only direct by-product is oxygen, and no carbon dioxide is released during production. In our facility in Boden, which will be Europe’s largest green hydrogen plant, we will produce over 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year using alkaline water electrolysis. Our green hydrogen will be used to reduce iron ore into green iron, which in turn will be used to make green steel.  

Green hydrogen has great potential for decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries, including steel. Most hydrogen produced today is made from coal or natural gas, processes that generate large amounts of carbon emissions. Green hydrogen stands apart because it is made with renewable electricity, without fossil fuels.

In our process, green hydrogen replaces coal or natural gas as the reducing agent to transform iron ore into direct reduced iron (DRI), also called sponge iron, in our DRI tower. In a chemical process, the green hydrogen reacts with the oxygen in the iron ore, producing water steam as the main by-product. After it is reduced, the sponge iron is combined with steel scrap and melted into molten steel, which is then cast and rolled into a variety of strip steel products. By using green hydrogen, we greatly reduce the carbon emissions in the steel- and ironmaking processes, and paving the way towards a green future for heavy industry.