蒂森克虏伯钢铁获修订后氢能转型资金条款 可灵活安排直接还原铁厂投氢节奏Thyssenkrupp Steel obtains revised funding terms for its hydrogen transition, allowing flexible scheduling of hydrogen implementation at direct reduction iron plants.

German steel company ThyssenKrupp Steel announced that it has received a revised funding decision for its tkH2Steel decarbonization project located in Duisburg, Germany. This adjustment allows the company to flexibly plan the commissioning pace of its hydrogen-powered direct reduction iron plant according to current market conditions.

The company stated that the revised funding requirements comply with EU state aid regulations, and the approval from the European Commission is now effective, providing greater flexibility for the transition from natural gas to hydrogen-based steelmaking. The adjustment of the funding terms does not change the project's ultimate goal of using hydrogen; what has changed is the timing of hydrogen investment.

ThyssenKrupp Steel noted that the need for revision stems from significant changes in economic conditions since the original funding decision, particularly the slower-than-expected development of the hydrogen market, insufficient hydrogen production capacity and transport infrastructure, and green hydrogen prices being significantly higher than initially estimated.

Under the new terms, the company can gradually increase the proportion of hydrogen used in direct reduced iron plants based on supply conditions, economic feasibility, and customer demand. The design supports operation using natural gas, hydrogen, or a mixture of both. Operating solely on natural gas can reduce carbon emissions by more than 50% compared to the existing coal-based blast furnace route, while the long-term goal of a full transition to hydrogen remains unchanged.

The direct reduced iron process replaces coke with natural gas or hydrogen as a reductant and is one of the main technological pathways for the steel industry to transition from long processes to short processes. The tkH2Steel project is designed with switchable gas sources, allowing the plant to operate even when hydrogen supply is not yet scaled up, and to increase the proportion of hydrogen use when conditions are suitable.

This arrangement ensures the operational feasibility of direct reduced iron plants under different hydrogen prices and hydrogen supply conditions, and ties the pace of decarbonization to the actual progress of hydrogen market development. After the plant starts operation, it can initially run on natural gas, and gradually increase the proportion of hydrogen as hydrogen supply and pricing conditions mature.

In addition, the company is preparing to launch a long-term hydrogen supply tender, expected to start soon. Once completed, the direct reduced iron plant will become one of the largest industrial hydrogen consumers in Europe, creating long-term hydrogen demand.

The project is still under construction, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tons of direct reduced iron. In the future, it can operate entirely on hydrogen, potentially reducing up to 3.5 million tons of carbon emissions per year.

[Source: My Steel Network]

[Editor: Xiao Neng]