Spanish steelmaker Sidenor Group announced that it has completed its first complete combustion tests using green hydrogen at a critical stage of the steelmaking process, specifically ladle heating, marking significant progress in the decarbonization of high-temperature industrial operations.
At its Basauri steel plant in Spain, the company replaced a traditional gas burner with an oxy-fuel burner powered by hydrogen. which allowed technicians to perform a full cycle of tests. ladle heating cycle and achieving the temperatures required for production. Sidenor said this confirms the potential for hydrogen to be used as a clean substitute for fossil fuels in one of the most energy-intensive segments of steel production.
Milestone in difficult-to-electrify processes
The tests are part of the IS2H4C project, which is exploring the use of hydrogen in industrial processes that are difficult or impossible to electrify. Heating a ladle typically requires extremely high and stable flame temperatures. By demonstrating that hydrogen can maintain these temperatures throughout the cycle, Sidenor has confirmed its potential to reduce emissions in operations traditionally reliant on natural gas.
