Rio Tinto has entered into definitive agreements with GravitHy to accelerate a steel decarbonisation project in France.
The leading mining company will supply high-grade direct reduction iron ore pellets from its Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) operations to GravitHy’s planned operation, as well as manage the sales and marketing of ultra-low carbon Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) GravitHy produces.
GravitHy’s proposed two million tonnes per year iron production facility at Fos-sur-Mer, France, aims to be commissioned in 2028.
The facility, located next to a deep seaport, will feature low carbon hydrogen production infrastructure, powered by existing grid-connected nuclear power, to process direct reduction pellets into HBI.
This process has the potential to reduce ironmaking-related CO2 emissions by more than 90%.
The production of iron and steel contributes around 8% of global carbon emissions and requires new technologies, redesigned processes, and new infrastructure to decarbonise.
José Noldin, GravitHy CEO said its project has been designated by the French government an ‘Industrial Project of Major National Interest’.
He said, “By combining our business ambitions, agility, and technological capabilities with Rio Tinto’s global leadership in mining and steel decarbonisation, we are ensuring a solid sourcing and go-to-market strategy to help accelerate the development of this project.”
Simon Farry, Rio Tinto Head of Steel Decarbonisation, said the collaboration is aligned with Rio Tinto’s steel decarbonisation strategy to accelerate the development of low-carbon Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking with high-grade iron as feedstock.
“This will allow us to both reduce our Scope 3 emissions and create valuable decarbonised pathways for our high-grade iron ore. We are excited to support GravitHy’s project and expand our understanding of the emerging green iron and steel market,” he said.
Yesterday (14th November) Tata Steel Netherlands and Ecolog, together with Gen2 Energy and Port of Amsterdam, announced they are exploring the import of liquid hydrogen and export of liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) between Norway and the Netherlands.
Hydrogen will be produced in Norway from hydropower, cooled and liquefied, and then shipped in specialist vessels owned by ECOLOG.
Liquid hydrogen will be transported to ECOLOG’s terminal at the Port of Amsterdam and converted back into a gaseous state, whereby it can be delivered to Tata Steel and other companies via a planned pipeline network.
Read more: Steel partners explore Norway-Netherlands hydrogen and CO2 corridor
Look out for more on green steel in the ‘hot topic’ of the decarbonisation-themed December issue
