Liberty Steel to Build New Hydrogen-based Steel Plant in France

UK-based Liberty Steel Group, part of GFG Alliance announced plans to build a new hydrogen-based steel making plant in France. The first-of-its-kind steel making facility in the country will be built in partnership with two European companies, with whom Liberty Steel has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

In a statement released yesterday, the company stated that it has entered into an agreement with Paul Wurth and Stahl-Holding-Saar (SHS) in assessing the construction and operation of an industrial-sized steel making plant in Dunkerque, France, which it believes would be the first operations of its type in entire France.

The plant will be built adjacent to GFG Alliance’s Alvance Aluminum site. It will house a DRI plant with capacity of 2 million tonnes, in addition to an integrated hydrogen electrolysis production unit having approximately a gigawatt capacity. The DRI plant will initially work on a mix of hydrogen and natural gas. Upon completion of the electrolysis production unit, it will use 100% hydrogen. Meantime, the financial details of the project were not disclosed.

Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Chairman of GFG Alliance and Liberty Steel Group reminded that hydrogen-based steel making process would lead to significant cut in carbon emissions.