Tata Steel Netherlands wants to switch more quickly to producing steel with green hydrogen. Previously, the storage and capture of CO2 was seen as an intermediate step to achieve the 2030 climate goals, but the steel company is now definitively abandoning this.
The major disadvantage of capturing CO2 is the nuisance for the environment, which then lasts longer. “This route is not only good for the climate through CO2 reduction, but also has the most benefits for the environment,” writes Tata Steel. Earlier this month, after a critical RIVM report, question marks on the future of the steel industry in the IJmond.
An interim report by consultancy Roland Berger shows that the ‘hydrogen route’ is technically feasible. The group says that the support of the national and regional government to realize green steel production is indispensable. This concerns subsidies, the construction of infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen and the issuance of the necessary permits.
For the time being, there is nowhere near enough green hydrogen. Tata Steel will first use natural gas, which can be combined with electric furnaces within the same so-called DRI technology.
Fewer chimneys
“We are going to apply new, innovative techniques in IJmuiden to make steel in a different way,” says chairman of the board Hans van den Berg. “Within eight years it will look very different here. Fewer chimneys and other installations.”
In the coming period, Tata Steel wants to use it to further research the DRI technology. “That concerns elements such as: economic evaluation, employment, impact on other emissions, such as nitrogen, odor, dust and noise,” the steel company writes.
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