The HYBRIT initiative was launched in 2016 by owners SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall with the aim of developing the world’s first fossil-free, ore-based iron- and steelmaking process using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen gas. The project for the production of fossil-free sponge iron for steel production (DR pilot) is now being followed up with the results of the pilot for fossil-free hydrogen gas production and storage. This project has been completed and reported to the Swedish Energy Agency.
The project has successfully designed and constructed a 100 m³ hydrogen storage facility based on steel-lined rock cavern technology in Svartöberget, adjacent to the DR pilot for sponge iron production in Luleå, Sweden. The completed tests demonstrate that the technology works to support a large-scale hydrogen user and that savings of approximately 25–40% in the variable operating costs of hydrogen gas production could be achieved. The pilot storage facility has undergone accelerated mechanical testing equivalent to approximately 50 years of operation, successfully demonstrating its safety, functionality, and performance.
“The pilot project has been highly successful and has given us the results we hoped for,” said Mikael Nordlander, Director, Industry Decarbonization at Vattenfall’s Industrial Partnerships. We have shown that it is possible to use this technology to increase the flexibility of the electricity system and that it is a safe design that lasts over time. Hydrogen gas storage is an important piece of the puzzle to electrify industrial processes while increasing the amount of weather-dependent power. With the results and experiences gained from the pilot project, the technology is now ready to be scaled up.”
Future fossil-free industrial processes using hydrogen gas from fossil-free electricity instead of fossil fuels will increase industry’s dependence on the electricity system. In this case, the security of supply of hydrogen is crucial. The primary purpose of a hydrogen storage facility is to enable the adjustment of hydrogen production in response to electricity market fluctuations. Hydrogen gas production costs are optimized by producing and storing surplus hydrogen gas when electricity prices are low and reducing production and using the stored hydrogen gas when prices are high.
“Hydrogen is an important part of LKAB’s future strategy and journey towards carbon dioxide-free products and processes,” said Jenny Greberg, Vice President Technology at LKAB. We have yet to make any decisions on hydrogen gas storage, but the successful results from the pilot give us good conditions when we review the needs and opportunities for storage in conjunction with our planned sponge iron production facilities.”
Martin Pei, CTO at SSAB, added: “The results from the HYBRIT pilot project show that large-scale storage of fossil-free hydrogen is technically possible and economically beneficial. With these innovative technologies, we can build strong fossil-free value chains with the potential to drastically reduce the climate footprint of the iron and steel industry.”
The steel industry currently accounts for around 7% of global CO₂ emissions. The HYBRIT technology will enable SSAB to reduce Sweden’s and Finland’s CO₂ emissions by 10% and 7%, respectively.
