Dr. Marcos de Campos

Abstract:

With the green hydrogen starting at 4.45  US$/kg, [1] hydrogen usage seems difficult. Not only the green hydrogen is very expensive, even the gray hydrogen is uneconomical. However, hydrogen production is a possibility when there is oversupply of electric energy.

In California, renewables as solar and wind already able to provide almost 100% of the energy, avoiding fossil fuels as coal and natural gas [2]. Both windy days or sunny days offer the possibility of in-excess production of energy [2], which can be employed for cheap hydrogen production.

Usually, DRI – Direct Reduction of Iron – request high quality iron ore [3], offering a possibility for Brazil in this market. Vale is considering a hub for HBI (hot briquetted iron) in Porto do Açu in Brazil [4]. Other possible hubs are planned for Saudi Arabia, Oman and Dubai, due to the possibility of cheap natural gas [5].

This study addresses economic issues of hydrogen usage in steelmaking.