Hybrit building pilot project in Luleå
SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall are investing a quarter of a billion SEK in a rock cavern storage facility for fossil-free hydrogen gas on a pilot scale next to Hybrits pilot facility för direct reduction in Luleå, north of Sweden.
The rock storage is an important step in the development of a fossil-free value chain för fossil-free steel. The investment cost of just over SEK 250 million is divided equally across the holding companies and the Swedish Energy Agency, which provides support via Industriklivet, a state initiative for development of Swedish industry.
Fossil-free hydrogen, which will replace coal and coke, is a crucial part of the production technique for fossil-free iron and steel production, where emissions of carbon dioxide will be virtually eliminated.
Hydrogen storages are predicted to play an important role in future power and energy balancing, and in large-scale hydrogen production. The storage facility is expected to be ready and operational from 2022 until 2024.
- We’re really pleased that Hybrit is continuing to lead the development of efficient production for fossil-free steel, as we’re now also building a pilot storage facility for large-scale fossil-free hydrogen in Luleå. Storage provides the opportunity to vary demand for electricity and stabilise the energy system by producing hydrogen when there’s a lot of electricity, for example in windy conditions, and to use stored hydrogen when the electricity system is under strain, says Andreas Regnell, Head of Strategy at Vattenfall and Chairman of the Board at Hybrit.
