Paul Rodden • Season: 2025 • Episode: 383
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The Hydrogen Podcast!
Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast! In this episode, Paul Rodden explores hydrogen’s transformative role in green steel production, a critical step toward reducing global carbon emissions. Steel production contributes approximately 8% of global CO2 emissions annually, but hydrogen is emerging as a powerful solution to decarbonize this essential industry.
Key Topics Discussed:
🔹 Why Green Steel Matters: The case for replacing coal with hydrogen in steelmaking
🔹 Thyssenkrupp’s $3 Billion Initiative: Hydrogen integration and its impact on emissions reduction
🔹 Australia’s Electric Smelting Furnace Project: Pioneering renewable-powered steel production
🔹 Challenges and Opportunities: Scaling hydrogen for steelmaking – costs, infrastructure, and energy demand
🔹 Global Impacts: How hydrogen-based steelmaking supports energy security, economic growth, and sustainability
Featured Highlights:
1️⃣ Green Steel Explained: From blast furnaces to hydrogen-powered direct reduced iron (DRI) processes
2️⃣ Thyssenkrupp’s Vision: Balancing hydrogen and traditional methods in steel production
3️⃣ Australia’s Breakthrough: Leveraging renewable energy and hydrogen for decarbonized smelting
4️⃣ Scaling Hydrogen in Steelmaking: Addressing costs, infrastructure, and renewable energy demands
5️⃣ Future Outlook: The role of hydrogen in global decarbonization and steel industry transformation
Why Watch This Episode:
Dive deep into the technical and economic potential of hydrogen in decarbonizing steel production. Learn about real-world innovations like Thyssenkrupp’s green steel initiative and Australia’s bold move with electric smelting furnaces.
Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the podcast. Please feel free to email me at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com with any questions. Also, if you wouldn’t mind subscribing to my podcast using your preferred platform… I would greatly appreciate it.
Respectfully,
Paul Rodden
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Transcript:
Today, I’m going to focus on hydrogens role in green steel production, a critical topic given steel makings significant contribution to global carbon emissions. The production of steel currently accounts for around 8% of the worldwide CO two emissions annually. For decades, the steel industry has relied heavily on coal and coke in blast furnaces, a process that is highly effective, but also highly carbon intensive as governments, industries and consumers increasingly demand sustainable practices, the need to decarbonize steel making has become more urgent. Hydrogen offers a promising pathway to achieve this.
By replacing carbon with hydrogen in critical processes, it is possible to significantly reduce emissions, while also unlocking new economic and technological opportunities for the industry. So in this episode, I’m going to take a closer look at Thyssenkrupp, $3 billion green steel initiative, and Western Australia’s plan to construct the country’s largest electric smelting furnace. I’ll also dive into the technical and economic aspects of hydrogen use in steel making, while highlighting the broader benefits of this technology and what it can bring all this on today’s hydrogen podcast.
So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy? Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally, and where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance of hydrogen, I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions that will unlock the potential of hydrogen, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to the hydrogen podcast.
And before I get started today, I want to give a big thank you to Robert S for supporting the show. I really appreciate it. So to start us off, let’s discuss why green steel matters. The Case for green steel extends far beyond just reducing CO2 emissions. Traditional steel production, which primarily uses blast furnaces, is built on a process that burns Coke or a form of coal to extract iron from its ore, this process releases significant amounts of CO two as a byproduct. However, green steel production involves using hydrogen as a reducing agent in place of coke. When hydrogen is used, the primary byproduct is water vapor rather than carbon dioxide, offering a cleaner and more sustainable alternative. One of the primary motivations for green steel is its potential to help industries align with international climate goals. As the world moves forward towards a net zero future, industries that rely on steel, such as automotive, construction and manufacturing, are increasingly seeking sustainable options to reduce their carbon footprint, green steel production offers these industries a way to meet sustainability targets while maintaining access to the materials they need. The benefits of green steel also include economic resilience.
Companies investing in hydrogen based steel making will be better positioned to meet future regulatory requirements such as carbon pricing and emissions caps. Additionally, the shift towards green steel could create new jobs in renewable energy and hydrogen production, providing long term economic benefits to regions that adopt this technology early. Another advantage is the potential to enhance energy security by relying on hydrogen produced from renewable energy green steel making reduces dependence on imported hydrocarbons, which can be subject to price volatility and geopolitical risks for countries with abundant renewable resources, such as Australia, this shift also represents an opportunity to develop a competitive edge on the global market for sustainable materials. Now let’s dive into Thyssenkrupps, $3 billion green steel plan. Thyssenkrupp, one of the world’s leading steel manufacturers, has taken a bold step towards decarbonizing its operations with a $3 billion investment in green steel production. This initiative marks a significant milestone in the industry’s transition to sustainability. It also highlights the challenges and limitations of relying on hydrogen alone. Thyssenkrupps green steel plan focuses on integrating hydrogen into its existing steel making process, particularly in its direct reduced iron or dri plants. The company plans to gradually replace carbon intensive processes with hydrogen based technologies enabling it to produce steel with significantly lower emissions.
However, it’s important to note that the plan does not rely entirely on hydrogen. Instead, Thyssenkrupp is adopting a blended approach, combining hydrogen with traditional methods to bridge the gap until hydrogen infrastructure and production are more developed. One of the key technical challenges facing Thyssenkrupp is the high cost of hydrogen production. Currently, green hydrogen remains expensive compared to hydrocarbon based alternatives. Additionally, hydrogen storage and distribution infrastructure are still in their infancy, making it difficult to scale hydrogen based steel making in the short term. But despite these challenges, Thyssenkrupps investment reflects growing confidence and. The economic potential of green steel.
The company expects to begin large scale production of green steel by the late 2020s positioning itself as a leader in the emerging market for sustainable materials. Success will depend on continued support from governments, particularly in the form of subsidies and investments in hydrogen infrastructure. And let’s also talk about Australia’s electric smelting furnace project. Australia is also making waves in green steel innovation with cook Labor Government recently announcing plans to build the country’s largest electric smelting furnace in Western Australia. This $1 billion project located in Port Hedland, represents a significant step forward in decarbonizing iron and steel industry.
The electric smelting furnace, or ESF is a key component of this initiative. Unlike traditional blast furnaces, ESFs use electricity to heat and reduce iron ore, eliminating the need for coal as a fuel source, while the initial focus is on using renewable electricity to power the furnace, green hydrogen could also play a complimentary role in providing a clean reducing agent. The economic benefits of this project are substantial. In addition to reducing emissions, the ESF is expected to create over 1000 construction jobs and 400 permanent positions Once operational, it will also enhance Australia’s reputation as a global leader in sustainable iron and steel production, potentially opening up new export markets for low emission materials. Western Australia’s abundant renewable energy resources, including solar and wind power, make it an ideal location for green hydrogen production. By integrating hydrogen into its iron making processes, the region could further reduce emissions while diversifying its economy away from hydrocarbon exports.
But what are the current challenges of scaling hydrogen in steel making, while the potential benefits of hydrogen in green steel making are clear, several challenges must be addressed to make this vision a reality. The first major challenge is the cost of hydrogen production. Green hydrogen remains significantly more expensive than natural gas or coal, primarily due to the high cost of electrolysis and the need for large scale renewable energy capacity to bring hydrogen costs down to competitive levels, governments and private sectors will need to invest heavily in research development and infrastructure. Another challenge is the need for extensive hydrogen storage and distribution networks. Hydrogen is a difficult substance to store and transport, requiring specialized equipment and infrastructure. Developing these systems will require significant investment and international cooperation. Energy demand is another critical consideration.
Green steel making processes, particularly those involving hydrogen, require vast amounts of renewable electricity. Scaling these processes will depend on the ability of energy grids to accommodate increased demand while maintaining reliability and affordability. Despite these challenges, the outlook for hydrogen in green steel making remains promising. Advances in technology, combined with growing political and economic support for decarbonization, are paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable steel industry. And so to close out on this topic, hydrogen does have the potential to revolutionize steel making, reducing emissions, while unlocking new economic and technological opportunities. From Thyssenkrupps, $3 billion steel green initiative to Australia’s groundbreaking electric smelting furnace, the industry is taking bold steps toward a more sustainable future, and while challenges do remain, the benefits of hydrogen based steel making, ranging from reduced emissions to increased energy security and economic resilience, make it a compelling solution for the global transition to sustainability.
As governments and industries continue to invest in hydrogen infrastructure and innovation the dream of a decarbonized steel industry is becoming increasingly achievable.
All right, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you could leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, whatever it is, that would be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you ever have any feedback, you’re welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. So until next time, keep your eyes up and honor one another. Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you did and want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
