Technology
HYBRIT
Country
Sweden
Application in details
HYBRIT is a technology which enables the production of cast iron and steel using hydrogen.
HYBRIT technology involves replacing the blast furnace process, which uses carbon and coke to remove oxygen from iron ore, with a direct reduction process in which we use fossil-free hydrogen produced from water using electricity from fossil-free energy sources.
Instead of carbon dioxide, water vapor is produced. Thus, it is the world's first fossil-free iron ore reduction technology to produce sponge iron, which is the central step in fossil-free iron and steel production.
Scalability
At first, it is plannned to use natural gas, and then hydrogen to compare the results. Testing will take place from 2020 to 2024. At the first stages, hydrogen production will be 20-30% more expensive than traditional methods. The reason is that hydrogen production will require a large amount of «green» electricity.
Current application sites/areas
HYBRIT plant, created in collaboration of SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall (Sweden)
