Large-scale storage of fossil-free hydrogen gas proven by HYBRIT

HYBRIT's pilot project for hydrogen gas storage has now been completed and reported to the Swedish Energy Agency. The results show that it is technically possible to store fossil-free hydrogen gas for the production of fossil-free iron and steel at an industrial scale.

The HYBRIT initiative was launched in 2016 by owners SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall with the aim of developing the world's first fossil-free ore-based iron- and steelmaking using fossil-free electricity and hydrogen gas. The project for the production of fossil-free sponge iron for steel production (DR pilot) is now being followed up with the results of the pilot for fossil-free hydrogen gas production and storage.

The project has successfully designed and constructed a 100 m³ hydrogen storage facility based on steel-lined rock cavern technology in Svartöberget adjacent to the DR pilot for sponge iron production in Luleå, Sweden. The tests show that the technology works to support a large-scale hydrogen user, and that savings of about 25-40% of the variable operating costs of hydrogen gas production could be reached. The pilot storage facility has undergone accelerated mechanical testing equivalent to approximately 50 years of operation, and the safety, functionality and performance of the facility have also been successfully demonstrated.

“The pilot project has been highly successful and has given us the results we hoped for. We have shown that it is possible to use this technology to increase the flexibility of the electricity system and that it is a safe design that lasts over time. Hydrogen gas storage is an important piece of the puzzle to electrify industrial processes while increasing the amount of weather-dependent power. With the results and experiences gained from the pilot project, the technology is now ready to be scaled up,” said Mikael Nordlander, director, industry decarbonization at Vattenfall's Industrial Partnerships.

“Hydrogen is an important part of LKAB's future strategy and journey towards carbon dioxide-free products and processes. We have yet to make any decisions on hydrogen gas storage, but the successful results from the pilot give us good conditions when we review the needs and opportunities for storage in conjunction with our planned sponge iron production facilities,” commented Jenny Greberg, vice president technology at LKAB.

“The results from the HYBRIT pilot project show that large-scale storage of fossil-free hydrogen is technically possible and economically beneficial. With these innovative technologies, we can build strong fossil-free value chains with the potential to drastically reduce the climate footprint of the iron and steel industry,” added Martin Pei, CTO at SSAB.

HYBRIT technology will enable SSAB to reduce Sweden’s and Finland’s carbon dioxide emissions by 10% and 7% respectively, the partners have claimed.

The Swedish Energy Agency has co-financed 22% of the hydrogen storage project, with the remainder financed by the owner companies.