'This is a milestone': ArcelorMittal successfully tests use of green hydrogen at Quebec plant

Source: Sylvia Pfeifer | · FINANCIAL POST · | May 3, 2022

Engineers replaced about seven per cent of the natural gas typically used to reduce iron ore with hydrogen

Source: Steel coils at an ArcelorMittal steel plant yard in Hamilton, Ont. PHOTO BY COLE BURSTON/GETTY IMAGES FILES

ArcelorMittal S.A. has successfully tested the use of green hydrogen to reduce iron ore at one of its industrial sites in Canada, in what the world’s second-largest steelmaker claims is a milestone for the industry.

Engineers at the company’s operations at Contrecoeur in Quebec replaced about seven per cent of the natural gas typically used to reduce iron ore with hydrogen made from renewable electricity during the 24-hour test earlier this month. Arcelor partnered with a local hydrogen producer that uses electricity from the Quebec grid, which is powered by renewable hydroelectricity, to source the gas.

“For us this is a milestone…The first industrial test done in an industrial setting,” said Francois Perras, chief executive of Arcelor Canada’s long products business.

The initiative marks another step in the global effort to improve the green credentials of an industry that accounts for seven to nine per cent of all direct fossil fuel emissions. Some of the world’s biggest steelmakers, including ArcelorMittal, ThyssenKrupp AG and China’s Baowu Steel Group Corp. Ltd., have launched various initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint.