2024-01-19 05:15:00
The PlatformCo Hydrogen consortium (commercially known as HyDeal Spain until September), which was established in November 2021 to supply green hydrogen to the large Asturian industry from Castilla y León, continues despite the doubts of ArcelorMittal (member and co-founder of the initiative) about its projected investment in a direct reduction furnace for iron ore (DRI) through the use of this renewable gas in industrial quantities.
All the consortium sources that could be consulted yesterday indicated that the project continues to be undertaken. One of the knowledgeable people stated that, in the event that ArcelorMittal lost interest, other new partners would be sought, a possibility that was always open.
PlatformCo Hydrogen (for which a new commercial name is being sought once the French operator HyDeal Ambition separated in September) is made up of ArcelorMittal, Fertiberia, Enagás Renovable and DH2.
The project consists of the generation of green hydrogen through an electrolysis process with the help of electrolyzers powered with renewable energy from photovoltaic parks. These facilities will be located in Castilla y León due to its greater sunshine and the gas will be transported to Asturias by hydroduct.
Sources from Enagás Renovable told this newspaper yesterday that this company “is continuing with its projects to meet the expected hydrogen demand in Asturias, where there is an industry that requires renewable hydrogen to meet its decarbonization plans.” Other members of the consortium indicated, in the same sense, that they are continuing with all their projects because for the decarbonization of some companies in Asturias “there is no alternative to green hydrogen.” ArcelorMittal had no comment.
Why is ArcelorMittal promoting the French project and leaving the Asturian project on hold when both are guaranteed similar public aid?
The last working meeting of the consortium was held on Thursday to monitor the project, which is in the development and engineering phase. The latter was contracted in May 2022 to Técnicas Reunidas, VINCI Construction and PowerChina Guizhou Engineering. Gijón-based TSK also got involved.
A person familiar with the project said there was some “reluctance” on the part of ArcelorMittal on Thursday. This apparent cooling of interest in the steel company occurs after the multinational informed its European union committee in December that it had decided to slow down its investments in decarbonization in the EU due to the high price of energy. On Monday, ArcelorMittal signed an agreement with the French Government to move forward with the project in Dunkirk (no news in the case of Fos-Sur-Mer) after reaching an advantageous energy supply agreement with the French electricity giant EDF, owned of the state.
Tata Steel to close blast furnaces in Wales, cut 3,000 jobs
Agencies, London
Steel company Tata Steel will press ahead with plans to close blast furnaces at its Port Talbot plant in south Wales, resulting in the loss of around 3,000 jobs. It is estimated that most of the jobs will be eliminated by September, according to the company’s plans. Tata will officially announce the measure today. It aims to replace blast furnaces with a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace that helps reduce emissions. At the moment, the specific plans for the closure and the extent of the help that affected workers will receive are unknown.
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