bp and thyssenkrupp plan hydrogen steel deliveries

bp and thyssenkrupp Steel have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing long-term supplies of low-carbon hydrogen and renewable energy sources for steel production.

Companies will explore options for supplying both blue and green hydrogen, as well as wind and solar power through the use of electricity purchase agreements.

thyssenkrupp Steel accounts for 2.5% of CO2 emissions in Germany, mainly from the Duisburg plant, where the main emitters, blast furnaces, operate.

By replacing coal-fired blast furnaces with direct reduction plants, where iron ore is reduced with low-carbon hydrogen, thyssenkrupp Steel intends to make steel production environmentally neutral in the long term.

William Lin, bp's executive vice president of regions, cities and solutions, said the steel and energy industries have long been closely linked.

“We supply fuel and raw materials for steel production, and our platforms, pipelines and turbine towers are made of steel,” he said.

“thyssenkrupp Steel aims to become environmentally neutral steel production by 2045, and low-carbon energy and hydrogen will play a critical role in achieving this goal.”

As part of its strategy to provide corporations with a range of decarbonization solutions, bp is already investing in and working to develop a portfolio of commercial scale hydrogen projects in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and Australia.

“With our aligned ambitions and complementary investments, thyssenkrupp Steel and bp can work together to help this hard-to-stop sector accelerate decarbonisation,” he added.

Dr. Arnd Köfler, CTO of thyssenkrupp Steel, said that the decarbonization of the steel industry will require huge amounts of low-carbon and, in the long term, environmentally friendly hydrogen.

“This will increasingly require the use of electricity from renewable sources,” he said.

“All this can only be achieved through a well-developed hydrogen infrastructure with an interregional pipeline network. The MoU is an important milestone for us to set the course from bp to a reliable energy supply in the future.”

Steel accounts for 8-11% of global CO2 emissions. It is necessary for the automotive and construction industries, as well as for the production of industrial equipment. It also forms the basis for a range of decarburization technologies, including wind turbines, generators and smart grids.

thyssenkrupp Steel currently produces 11 million tons of crude steel per year and plans to produce 400,000 tons of low CO2 steel by 2025.

bp is working on clean hydrogen production at its refineries in Lingen in Germany, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Castellón in Spain. ‎

The company is developing projects for the production of both blue and green hydrogen around the world, including in the UK and Australia.