The government has agreed to fund a feasibility study on switching from natural gas to re-heat furnaces.
If successful, an industrial size demonstration will be carried out, with the Scunthorpe-based company potentially rolling out the created technology across all of its locations.
The firm is cooperating with EDF UK, University College London, and the Materials Processing Institute, with the goal of delivering net-zero steel by 2050 while reducing CO2 emissions considerably.
“As an energy-intensive industry with difficult to abate emissions, the steel industry provides the opportunity for considerable CO2 emission savings through fuel switching from natural gas to hydrogen,” said Lee Adcock, British Steel’s environment and sustainability director. As a result, this research is a critical and exciting step in our quest to create the technologies required to alter the way we, and other steel producers, operate.
“We appreciate the government’s assistance and look forward to working with our partners to lower the carbon intensity of our operations so that we can produce the clean, green steel that society requires.”
The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy provided money for the research. Six-month research will begin at the company’s Teesside Beam Mill in collaboration with partners.
It connects to the Tees Green Hydrogen project, a ground-breaking program that would fuel its hydrogen electrolyzer with green electricity from the adjacent Teesside Offshore Wind Farm and a new solar farm that EDF Renewables UK plans to build near Redcar.
Dr. Gari Harris, British Steel’s head of research and development, said: “As part of the feasibility study, EDF UK will conduct a techno-economic assessment of the methodology and practicality of delivering green hydrogen for fuel switching into the steel manufacturing process, and British Steel will assess the technical implications of the fuel switch on both product and process, and British Steel will assess the technical implications of the fuel switch on both product and process.”
“The partners will work together to analyze the economic viability and environmental effect of switching from natural gas to hydrogen in certain sectors of steel production.” The Materials Processing Institute and UCL will also contribute to British Steel’s assessment of product and process viability.”
On the Humber, where British Steel’s main facility is located, major plans for green hydrogen generation are also in the works, as are the grid connections of the world’s two largest offshore wind farms.
“As we accelerate the UK’s energy independence by promoting clean, home-grown, cheap energy, it’s critical that our businesses reduce their dependency on fossil fuels,” Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said.
“This funding will assist companies in not just reducing emissions but also saving money on energy costs, as well as supporting employment in the UK by stimulating green innovation.”
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