Masdar and EMSTEEL complete hydrogen pilot project for green steelmaking

The Abu Dhabi-based pilot project, the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East and North African region, uses green hydrogen to extract iron from iron ore. The pilot project is now fully operational and has successfully commenced the production of green steel, the companies have said.

The renewable hydrogen produced by the project has been certified by Avance Labs, the hydrogen code manager accredited by the International Tracking Standard Foundation, in accordance with the recently released ISO 19870 methodology for hydrogen. The certification data was validated by Bureau Veritas, acting as the third-party assurance provider.

Masdar CEO, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said: “This project demonstrates world-class innovation as a result of our partnership with EMSTEEL to produce green steel utilizing green hydrogen. Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries is vital to the global undertaking to achieve the objectives of the historic UAE Consensus agreed at COP28. Green hydrogen is an essential element in advancing national and global decarbonization efforts and we are proud to be at the forefront of that endeavor.”

Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, group CEO of EMSTEEL, commented: “We are committed to propelling decarbonization efforts in the sector, in support of the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative. Our efforts to date have been fruitful, with our current utilization of clean energy sources rising above 80% in 2023. EMSTEEL is also the first steelmaker in the world to capture part of its CO₂ emissions, enabling us to operate with 45% less carbon intensity than the global average. Our partnership with Masdar will play a key role in continuing to build on our efforts to decarbonize this hard-to-abate sector and the downstream supply chain.”