QAZAQ GREEN. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €55 million German measure to support ArcelorMittal Hamburg GmbH (‘ArcelorMittal’) in building a demonstration plant for the production of green steel using renewable hydrogen, Hydrogen Centralreports

The measure will contribute to the achievement of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the European Green Deal targets, while helping to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition in line with the REPowerEU Plan.

Germany notified to the Commission its plan to support ArcelorMittal’s project to partially decarbonise its steel production in Hamburg.

The aid, which will take the form of a direct grant of €55 million, will support the construction and installation of a demonstration production facility using 100% renewable hydrogen. The main objective of the project is to apply technology aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in ArcelorMittal’s green steel production processes. The plant will have an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes of direct reduced iron, a key input for steel production.

This new industrial scale demonstration plant will provide ArcelorMittal with valuable insights into the production of high-quality emissions-free steel. ArcelorMittal will use the experience gained at the demonstration plant to decarbonize its steel production in the EU on a larger scale. Moreover, ArcelorMittal has committed to share its technical know-how with other European steel producers.

The demonstration plant is envisioned to start operating in 2026.  Once completed, the project is expected to avoid the release of over 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in total.