Full Title: Hydrogen Policy’s Narrow Path: Delusions And Solutions: Hydrogen for Primary Steel
Author(s): Energy Innovation
Publisher(s): Energy Innovation
Publication Date: September 10, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Most primary steel (i.e., high-quality steel originating from iron ore) is made today from the combination of a blast furnace (BF), responsible for 93 percent of global ironmaking, and a basic oxygen furnace (BOF), responsible for 71 percent of global steelmaking. The two processes are often integrated in a single system (BF-BOF) and rely heavily on coal. A loweremitting method involves using natural gas to purify iron ore via the direct reduced iron (DRI) process, then using electricity to make steel in an electric arc furnace (EAF). Hydrogen can replace natural gas in the DRI process, providing a near-term path to fully clean primary steel.