Multi-billion investment for H2 Green Steel: “A gigantic contract”

ENERGY

The next piece of the puzzle in the steel company H2 Green Steel’s investment is now in place. The company has signed a multi-billion dollar agreement with German Thyssenkrupp Nucera for the construction of one of the world’s largest electrolyser plants.

The news will be presented later in the morning and involves an agreement between H2 Green Steel and Thyssenkrupp Nucera, which is part of the German engineering conglomerate Thyssenkrupp.

The intention of H2 Green Steel is to produce fossil-free steel in a new steel mill in Boden, which is supposed to be ready in a couple of years. This is to be done by manufacturing the iron sponge using hydrogen gas and that is where the electrolyser plant comes into the picture. In it, water is split into just hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electricity.

– When we start production at the end of 2025, it will be one of the world’s, if not the world’s, largest green hydrogen production facilities. We will use all this hydrogen for our own use, says CEO Henrik Henriksson to TT.

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Henrik Henriksson and H2 Green Steel do not want to specify any exact financial figures, but say that it is a “multi-billion investment” for the company.

– It is a gigantic contract for us but also for Thyssenkrupp Nucera. Unfortunately, there is a lot of talk about large green hydrogen projects, but not many go all the way to placing an order and starting production.

Most effective

A disadvantage that is usually stated with regard to electrolyser investments is that the efficiency is still relatively low, around 20–30 percent of the energy content can be lost in the conversion from electricity to hydrogen gas.

Then it is usually about solutions where the hydrogen needs to be transported, stored or transferred to fuel cells. In this case, it will be used as a direct input, the company says.

– This is the most efficient plant you can get on the market so it has a high efficiency. Through the software, it will improve and get better and better every year, says Henrik Henriksson.

– If you were to wait ten years, there will of course be something more effective, but if we wait, we will never get started with the green transition.

Planned start of production in 2025

Planned start of production for the steel mill is 2025. H2 Green Steel is now one of several players around Europe who run projects to produce green steel. At the same time as it is therefore a race with a number of stakeholders, the financial conditions have changed in recent years. However, the new tough investment situation with rising interest rates worldwide does not worry CEO Henrik Henriksson.

– Our project is fundamentally a sustainable and green project. This provides very good conditions for both banks and investors. In addition, the energy crisis due to the war as well as inflation has increased the interest in green steel instead of brown steel. We feel safe, but it’s a bit of a paradox, our case has almost become stronger, says Henrik Henriksson.