ArcelorMittal Poland will build a hydrogen production plant at its Krakow site, in collaboration with Linde Gaz Polska, which will supply process gas to two galvanizing plants.
The total investment will exceed PLN 100 million. The Kraków smelter will be able to use hydrogen as early as the end of 2026, the steelmaker has said.
Since 2018, ArcelorMittal Poland has not used coal as a fuel in its Kraków branch, and since July this year it has not produced coke.
"We are currently completing a project to build hydrogen furnaces, which will allow us to eliminate ammonia in the annealing plant.''
Łukasz Skorupa, COO of flat products and quality, director of the Kraków branch, ArcelorMittal
‘‘Our installations: the hot rolling mill and the cold rolling mill, as well as the galvanising and sheet metal painting lines, currently operate exclusively on the basis of natural gas’’, commented Łukasz Skorupa, COO of flat products and quality, and director of the Kraków branch. "We are currently completing a project to build hydrogen furnaces, which will allow us to eliminate ammonia in the annealing plant. Its cost is PLN 52 million. The project with Linde, on the other hand, is to ensure a reliable supply of hydrogen for our galvanizing plants.''
The plant will be built near the galvanizing plant, producing hydrogen from natural gas. The investment has already begun, and design work is currently underway. In addition to hydrogen fuel for galvanizing plants, the Kraków branch of ArcelorMittal Poland will also gain another environmental effect – it will completely eliminate ammonia from the process, which will increase the level of process safety of the plants.
''We are constantly improving the quality of our products, expanding their product range, and at the same time gradually reducing our environmental impact."
Wojciech Koszuta, CEO, ArcelorMittal Poland
"Since 2004, we have already invested nearly PLN 2.5 billion in Kraków's rolling mills and galvanizing plants. We are constantly improving the quality of our products, expanding their product range, and at the same time gradually reducing our environmental impact", said Wojciech Koszuta, CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland. ‘‘The decarbonization of our company is not only about activities in the area of steel production, but also in the processing [area]".
"As an expert with over a century of experience in the field of hydrogen production, distribution and storage, we were able to offer ArcelorMittal the best solutions available in the hydrogen sector, ensuring the highest level of operational plant safety and production process reliability."
Oleksandra Tuzhylina, CEO, Linde Gaz Polska
"As an expert with over a century of experience in the field of hydrogen production, distribution and storage, we were able to offer ArcelorMittal the best solutions available in the hydrogen sector, ensuring the highest level of operational plant safety and production process reliability", concluded Oleksandra Tuzhylina, CEO of Linde Gaz Polska.