H2 Green Steel Considers Quebec for New Mill

The Stockholm, Sweden-based company could “build a ‘green iron’ plant and a giant electrolyzer powered by renewable energy that would supply the site with hydrogen, replacing the use of carbon-intensive coal. The iron would then be exported,” the article states.

Or it could choose to build a complete steel mill.

The key factor in the company’s decision is “access to power and renewable electricity,” the spokesperson said in an email to SMU. “Without that, large-scale hydrogen production is not possible even if state funding comes into play.”

“Supported by Invest in Quebec, we have evaluated three locations where Sept-Îles is identified as the strongest option,” the spokesperson said. Sept-Îles is a major iron-ore handling port located on the St. Lawrence River.

“We are also evaluating sites in Texas in the US (and in Brazil and Portugal),” the spokesperson noted.

The potential project could come at an investment of €3-6 billion (US$3.17-6.34 billion), according to the Bloomberg article.

H2 Green Steel had previously said it is exploring the development of green industrial hubs in North America and Brazil together with Brazilian miner Vale.

In June, the Swedish company signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercedes-Benz for the potential supply of green steel made in North America. The automaker operates an SUV production plant in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; a Sprinter van assembly plant in Ladson, S.C.; and a battery plant in Woodstock, Ala.

H2 Green Steel was founded in 2020 to accelerate the decarbonization of the steel industry by using green hydrogen. Its first large-scale green steel plant – also the world’s first – is still being developed in Boden in northern Sweden. The company aims to have production running by 2025.