Nippon Steel Corporation has produced more than 1,000 tonnes of hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) using low-grade iron ore at its pilot steelmaking plant in Kashima, Japan.
The DRI was made over 300 hours of continuous operation of the firm’s 60-metre furnace shaft in tests which began in March.
Nippon Steel said it addressed challenges around hydrogen-only reduction reactions and the tendency of low-grade iron ore to break down into powder during processing using “advanced thermal compensation technology” and “operational techniques.”
The firm, which is the largest steelmaker in Japan, said the test advances efforts to scale up and implement the process more broadly by 2040.
Hydrogen DRI processes have previously been found to work best with high-grade ore of around 67% iron content.
However, using low-grade iron ore could significantly broaden available raw material supplies, enabling cheaper production.
With steelmaking accounting for between 7% and 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, and as much as 14% of Japan’s national emissions, hydrogen-based DRI pathways are emerging as an important decarbonisation measure.
Companies in the field suggest that using green hydrogen could eliminate more than 90% of emissions associated with coal-fired blast furnaces.
In August, JFE Steel produced what it claimed was Japan’s first hydrogen-based DRI.
However, high costs have beset several players attempting to commercialise the process. ArcelorMittal dropped two projects in Germany, while Stegra’s project in Sweden has come across several hurdles.
