Nordic countries eye ‘green’ steel mill

The Business Finland agency, part of that nation’s government, says it is working with Norway-based steel producer Blastr Green Steel to finance and build a hydrogen-powered steel mill with up to 2.5 million tons of annual capacity.

While the announcement by Business Finland does not mention scrap feedstock specifically, it does say Blastr intends to “reduce the CO₂ footprint along the entire value chain, with the aim of achieving 95 percent lower CO₂ emissions compared to the conventional manufacturing process.”

“Recycled scrap metal is indeed planned to be used as feedstock for the steelmaking process,” says Minna Sundelin, a consultant attached to the project. “The Blastr project is still in an early development phase, and the company is in a process of defining the scope of the use of scrap.”

Recycling companies and trade groups, as well as scrap-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers, increasingly have been pointing to the decarbonization benefits of melting scrap compared with mined materials.

Business Finland says the “green steel plant” planned by Blastr will be “an integrated hydrogen production facility” that will “replace coke and coal with hydrogen in the chemical reduction phase.” The entities involved put a 4 billion euros ($4.24 billion) price tag on the mill, which it says can be built to start up by the end of 2026.

“We are dedicated to decarbonizing the steel manufacturing industry, as it is one of the largest global CO₂ emitters,” Blastr Green Steel CEO Hans Fredrik Wittusen says. “With the green steel produced in Inkoo, we aim to reduce carbon emissions by 4.6 million tons of CO₂ per year compared to conventional methods, corresponding to the amount of emissions created by all passenger cars in Finland annually.”

Wittusen adds, “We will systematically address all parts of the value chain to reduce overall carbon footprint, reduce waste and develop circular solutions. Furthermore, our ambition is to secure a significant share of our power needs from directly or indirectly owned wind parks, contributing through own investments and partnerships to advance clean energy production in Finland.”

Business Finland says that in Europe alone the demand for decarbonized steel is expected to reach 50 million tons by 2030, or nearly one-third of current European steel demand. The agency cites wind turbines, the construction market, the automotive industry and consumer goods sectors as those seeking low-carbon steel.