The American company produces pure hydrogen using waste gases from steel production

According to Texas-based Utility Global, on-site hydrogen production using industrial waste gases is a commercially viable solution for steel mills, according to Callanish.

The company claimed to have reached an important milestone in the industry by successfully implementing a system that can produce pure hydrogen from water without the need for electricity. Its so-called H2Gen system produced hydrogen using blast furnace gas for the first time in the world.

Hydrogen is expected to play a promising role in decarbonization of steel production. However, its high cost and bottlenecks in the field of renewable energy supply are becoming looming obstacles to its application.

"Our successful implementation of H2Gen at a large steel mill in North America proves that we can deliver scalable, cost—effective, clean hydrogen solutions that seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and assets," says Utility CEO Parker Meeks. "H2Gen is the only commercially viable solution for producing clean hydrogen in such difficult—to-reduce environments. industries like steel production."

Testing of the H2Gen pilot plant began in 2022 in Houston, delivering 99% pure hydrogen with 99.7% operational availability. The industrial-scale demonstration at the steel mill lasted more than 3,000 hours, but details about the purity of hydrogen and production capacity were not disclosed.

According to the Utility's website, its technology combines electrochemical and chemical processes based on a solid oxide-based system. Gas production is based on two streams, which are separated by an impermeable electrolyte, and the counter-exchange of oxygen ions and electrons. One stream is reduced, and the other is oxidized. Electrons flow from the anode to the cathode, forming hydrogen at the cathode, the company explains.

"Unlike traditional fuel cells or electrolyzers, current is not extracted or supplied to the reactor to control the process," he adds, noting the immediate economic benefits. Further cost reductions come from scalability, relatively small size, and simplicity — without the need for additional infrastructure.