German steel companies, Thyssenkrupp Steel and HKM, as well as the Port of Rotterdam, are jointly investigating starting international supply chains for hydrogen.
In the course of their transformation towards climate-neutral steel making, Thyssenkrupp Steel and HKM will require large and increasing quantities of hydrogen to produce steel without coal.
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For decades, both companies have been importing coal, iron ore and other raw materials via their own terminal in Rotterdam, using inland barges as well as rail to transport it to their blast furnaces in Duisburg.
The partners will explore hydrogen import opportunities via Rotterdam as well as a possible pipeline corridor between Rotterdam and Thyssenkrupp Steel’s and HKM’s steel sites in Duisburg. The partnership may serve as a framework for additional initiatives and aims at supporting existing initiatives and projects in which the partners are involved.
The Port of Rotterdam is already investigating the import of hydrogen from a large number of countries and regions across the world.
Rotterdam is also setting up a carbon transport and storage system, Porthos, which is being considered as a CO2 storage site for the production of blue hydrogen by the ‘H2morrow steel’ project, which includes Thyssenkrupp Steel.
“The three partners agree new, cross-border infrastructure is required to support the energy transition, especially [as] additional pipeline structure is needed,” said a Thyssenkrupp statement.
“A concrete and significant demand for hydrogen from the steel industry as an alternative to coal, as well as the options to store CO2 can work as a stimulus for the realisation of this infrastructure.
“The cooperation between Rotterdam as Europe’s largest port and Duisburg as Europe’s largest steel site can have a signalling effect to establish supply chains for the energy transition, building an important sustainable European industry and logistics cluster.”
