In line with European climate goals, voestalpine aims to produce carbon-neutral steel by 2050. As part of its “sustainable steelmaking” (SuSteel) research project, the company will investigate the use of hydrogen plasma “to simultaneously reduce iron ore and smelt it into crude steel in a special direct current electric arc furnace.”
 
According to voestalpine, the advantage of using green electricity and hydrogen as the reducing agent is that the only byproduct is water vapor.
 
“We are working at full speed on novel processes which will allow us to achieve the breakthrough of decarbonizing steel production at the sites in Linz and Donawitz. Our two flagship projects, H2FUTURE and SuSteel, make us global pioneers in the industry when it comes to researching the use of green hydrogen to apply new technologies in steel production,” said Herbert Eibensteiner, voestalpine AG’s chief executive.
 
The company aims to partially replace its existing blast furnace route with hybrid steel production using electricity, and to progressively increase the share of green hydrogen used in the steel production process.
 
“The requirements for realizing this revolutionary vision are clear: green electricity and hydrogen must be available in sufficient quantities and at prices which reflect market conditions,” Eibensteiner added.
 
Joining voestalpine in the project include the K1-MET competence center for metallurgy and Montanuniversität Leoben.
 
The pilot facility commenced operation in Donawitz in 2021.