Italy-based engineering consultancy, inspection, and certification company RINA announced on Tuesday the commencement of a six-year research project titled Hydra to build a 100 percent hydrogen-fuelled pilot plant capable of producing up to seven tonnes of different grades of steel per hour.

This €88 million open research project aims to provide ground-breaking near-zero carbon technology and capabilities to the international steel industry, RINA said in a press statement.

The statement said Hydra will involve the design and construction of an operational pilot plant that will utilise hydrogen in every stage of the steel production cycle.

The structure, scheduled for completion by 2025, will consist of a 30m high direct iron ore reduction (DRI) tower using hydrogen as a reducing agent, an electric furnace (EAF) and a reheating furnace.

Through a testing and qualification hub, the project will also characterise the materials, equipment and internal infrastructure required, including transportation and storage, by steel producers to transition to 100 percent hydrogen fuelled steel production, ensuring a comprehensive and validated shift to hydrogen-based processes.

With every tonne of steel produced currently emitting 1.63 tonnes of CO2 on average, Hydra's goal is to reduce emissions to mere kilogrammes of CO2 per tonne of steel, according to the statement.

With over 3,500 different types of steel with unique physical, chemical, mechanical and magnetic properties, the steel industry accounts for around eight percent of global emissions.  

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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