The long-held view is that the only possible way to decarbonize steel production is to use green hydrogen to extract iron from ore and then use electric furnaces to turn the iron into steel. was.
But long-term technology being developed by well-funded startups promises to not only compete with green hydrogen, but potentially disrupt the business case for it.2 In general steel production.
Boston Metal, based in Massachusetts, is using molten oxide electrolysis (MOE), which injects a liquid electrolyte containing iron ore chips with large amounts of clean electricity and heats it through electrodes to 1,600 degrees Celsius (the melting point of iron). ) invented a technology called To withstand such high temperatures.
At this temperature, the iron oxide in the ore separates into pure molten iron and oxygen. Impurities such as silica and magnesium rise to the top of the furnace, while the liquid electrolyte remains intact and continues the process.
Another advantage of this technology is hydrogen-fired direct iron reduction (DRI) (See panel below) requires scarce high-grade iron ore, so Swedish developer H2 Greensteel imports ore from Canada and Brazil, and the Ministry of the Environment has been forced to buy lower-grade iron ore, a cheaper resource. I am working on using it.
Boston Metal is already operating a pilot plant at its headquarters in Woburn, Mass., and plans to open a commercial-scale plant in Brazil this week to produce low-carbon ferrous alloys, with the company expecting to generate $400 million by 2026. We believe that we can bring in profits. The company is aiming to begin commercial production of green steel in 2020, according to the company. forbes magazine.
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It's a good thing Boston Metal has deep pockets. Boston Metal has been working on MOE technology since his founding in 2013, and the company's potential is so great that it continues to attract high-profile investors.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures — a technology venture capital firm backed by billionaires including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson — was one of Boston Metals' early backers and continues to lead the company. The company has supported the company, contributing an undisclosed amount to its Series C in September last year. The company raised an impressive $262 million in funding round.
Venture capital database Pitchbook recently announced that it values the company at $860 million. forbes.
Another Series C investor is steel giant ArcelorMittal, which recently admitted that green hydrogen is too expensive for use in EU steel plants, but has been awarded 2.89 billion by European governments to build DRI facilities. We plan to receive funds in euros.
Estimates suggest that green hydrogen-based steel could be 20-40% more expensive than gray steel produced in coal-fired blast furnaces or basic oxygen furnaces.
However, Boston Metal CEO Tadeu Carneiro said: forbes If MOE's plants can produce 1 million to 2 million tons per year, the technology could bring production of green steel to a cost comparable to highly polluting varieties, with electricity costs around $30/MWh. This figure has already been achieved with solar power. The sunniest region in the world.
“We want to make better metals at lower prices without subsidies,” he said. “Premium means failure. Your technology can't go to market.”
Nevertheless, many new buyers have been willing to pay a premium for hydrogen-based green steel. For example, H2 Green Steel has already been used by Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, truck manufacturer Scania, US conglomerate Cargill, German automotive technology company ZF, German auto parts supplier Kirchhoff Automotive, Italian steelmaker Marzegaglia and the UK. SPM, based in Germany, and the Bilstein Group.
Estimates suggest that replacing coal-fired gray steel with more expensive green steel would cost around 300 euros (approximately 32,000 yen) per vehicle; , an amount that can be absorbed fairly easily by customers who are already paying five figures for new cars.
Boston Metals' MOE technology can also be used to produce low-carbon metals other than iron and steel. In November, the U.S. government approved funding for Boston Metal to build a new facility in West Virginia to produce ultra-high purity chromium. The project was one of seven projects to share a $275 million cash pot, although the exact amount raised was not disclosed.
Green steel producers plan to use green hydrogen to decarbonize steel plants, which account for 7-8% of global carbon emissions.
Traditionally, iron has been extracted from iron oxide ore by burning carbon-rich coking coal in a blast furnace. In this case, fossil fuels produce high-temperature heat while simultaneously converting the ore to carbon dioxide and removing oxygen.
This highly polluting method can be replaced with green hydrogen in direct reduced iron (DRI) facilities. In this facility, H2 reacts with oxygen to produce steam (H2O) rather than carbon dioxide.
In fact, hydrogen-based DRI is currently the only proven route to decarbonized steel production when combined with renewable energy-powered electric furnaces.
Policy makers hope to reduce emissions from this sector to zero by having producers use green hydrogen DRI and converting to green steel using electric furnaces powered by renewable energy However, in Europe the cost of green H2 exceeds 5 euros per kg, which will have a significant impact. For more expensive steel, buyers have to pay a premium.
