The investments that will make reinforcing steel from Mo i Rana even more climate-friendly are at least as exciting as they are large. Statkraft will made industrial hydrogen from snow and water, and it doesn't get any cleaner. Did you know that 75 percent of the universe's mass consists of hydrogen?
Earlier this summer, Statkraft, Celsa and Mo Industripark AS signed an agreement of intent to establish a green hydrogen value chain for industrial use. The goal is to replace Celsa's fossil inputs with hydrogen based on electrolysis and at the end produce one of Europe's most climate-friendly reinforcing steel.
While for industrial use, hydrogen has been obtained from fossil natural gas, the Mo i Rana hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis, i.e. with electricity and water. Many have probably taken part in making hydrogen at school by sticking two wires from a battery into a glass of water, and watching the teacher ignite the whole thing as explosive gas.
There are completely different dimensions at Statkraft's upcoming production facility. According to the plans, the facility is to be completed in 2024 or 2025, at the same time as Celsa's new gas-fired furnace is completed. In this furnace, steel billets will be heated to a temperature that allows them to be rolled into wire and rebar.
- This construction work will not be an easy process exactly. At the same time as we are in full operation, we will build the new furnace, says Celsa's rolling mill manager Petter Skatland to MIP Info.
The project will develop a complete value chain for green hydrogen. The first step will be to establish a production unit that can supply hydrogen to Celsa and other facilities in the industrial park. The hydrogen gas will replace fossil energy sources and make the Celas steel to be one of the world's most climate-friendly reinforcing steels, based on recycled scrap and hydropower.
- For us at CELSA, this is a long-term and important initiative to achieve our long-term sustainability goals. We are committed to meeting society's need for quality steel without compromising future generations. That is why we focus on sustainable production technology such as hydrogen, says Carles Rovira, managing director of Celsa Nordic in a press release.
– Hydrogen is one of the most important measures to decarbonise the steel industry and we at Celsa want to be a pioneer in the use of hydrogen in the production of reinforcing steel in both the Nordic and European countries. We already have production technology that enables the use of hydrogen and can receive production from the plant as soon as it is up and running. The project is part of our strategy to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and eliminate emissions by 2050, concludes Rovira.
We are witnessing an impressive pioneering effort from Celsa Nordic. An EU report last year revealed that the iron and steel industry is responsible for approximately 4% of man-made CO2 emissions in Europe, and 9% worldwide. The reason is the industry's massive use of coal.
The EU report states that replacing coal with hydrogen produced with renewable energy will enable the entire industry to be largely decarbonised. The report states that the principles surrounding the use of the gas are well known, and encourages the industry to take action. It is this call that Celsa Nordic, Statkraft and Mo Industripark have now taken up.
In addition to conversions in the rolling mill, the Celsa strand casting machine will also be rebuilt. Today, the maximum length of the finished steel billets, are nine metres. The new hydrogen-fired billet furnace will provide space for steel blanks as long as fourteen metres. The increased length also requires that equipment for transport between steel and rolling mills be rebuilt.
- We are going to need almost all the specialist groups found at the companies in Mo Industripark in this project, Petter Skatland tells MIP Info.