Nel supplies electrolyser to Ovako; Liquid Wind secures funding
The electrolyser will enable Ovako to cut CO2 for heating steel before rolling.
Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS has received a purchase order for a 20 MW alkaline water electrolyser from Ovako (a European engineering steelmaker).
The electrolyser will be installed at Ovako’s existing plant in Hofors, Sweden. It will be the first plant in the world to use hydrogen to heat steel before rolling and hot forming, replacing fossil propane gas currently used in heating furnaces at the site. The conversion will enable Hofors site to cut its CO2 emissions by 50%.
The purchase order has a contract value of around €11 million, and the equipment is expected to be delivered at the end of 2022, with the first hydrogen production in 2023. The project also received support from the Swedish Energy Agency.
Jon André Lokke, CEO at Nel, said, “There is huge potential in reducing CO2 emissions from steel-heating processes through the use of green hydrogen, there are numerous similar sites with equally large potential for decarbonisation.”
Rickard Qvarfort, President at Hofors, commented, “In June, we announced our collaboration with the Volvo Group, Hitachi Energy, H2 Green Steel and Nel Hydrogen with the purpose to invest in fossil-free hydrogen in Hofors.”
Meanwhile, Swedish Climate Leap, “Klimatklivet”, invests €15 million in Liquid Wind’s facility, FlagshipONE, producing carbon-neutral fuel for shipping. FlagshipONE will be connected to Övik Energi’s combined heat and power (CHP) plant Hörneborgsverket in Örnsköldsvik, in the north of Sweden. The construction is set to start in 2022, and once operational, it is expected to produce 50k of eMethanol in 2024. The new facility will upcycle CO2 emissions and combine this with green hydrogen, made from renewable electricity and water to produce eMethanol. The project partners include Alfa Laval, Carbon Clean, Haldor Topsoe, Siemens Energy, Uniper and Worley.
