The defossilization of the emission-intensive global primary steel sector will be driven by deploying hydrogen-based direct-reduced iron (H2-DRI) technologies. DRI can either be directly fed into an electric-arc-furnace (EAF) or innovative melters for subsequent steelmaking or transported as cold hot-briquetted iron (HBI) to a steelmaking site. Green steel made from H2-DRI has not yet been produced at competitive costs compared to conventional primary steel under regulation of carbon pricing schemes (e.g. EU ETS). While first European steelmakers are commissioning the H2-DRI-EAF route with on-site DRI plants, potentially low-cost renewable energy countries like Oman or Australia aim to export green DRI coupled to dedicated green hydrogen production capacities.
The presentation reveals potential green steel cost savings of up to 10% when importing green HBI from renewable-rich countries like Australia to a German steel site that could potentially face a lack of affordable hydrogen supply options in the future. The case study compares multiple green iron supply chain configurations based on hydrogen supply cost forecasts in 2030 and 2040 and shows the impact of hydrogen costs on crude steel cost.