The Spanish Government has granted 60 million Euros of its Decarbonization Strategic Project funds to Hydnum Steel, the first green steel plant on the Iberian Peninsula and one of the first to be built worldwide.
According to Hydnum Steel, the funding is essential to drive the construction of southern Europe’s first clean energy steel plant and to lead the European Union’s reindustrialization and strategic autonomy.
The funding comes from the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), a programme, says Hydnum, approved by the Spanish Government to accelerate the green transition of the industrial sector and financed by the European Union.
The Hydnum project will eliminate CO2 emissions and discharge into aquifers, setting a new standard for energy efficiency, claims the company, as well as environmental friendliness through a number of key differentiators.
“This aid represents recognition of the project’s transformative value and a firm commitment to a cleaner, more innovative and competitive national industry.”
Eva Maneiro, CEO of Hydnum Steel.
Those differentiators are exclusive use of 100% renewable energy in all of its operations; sustainable water management, a commitment to quality employment, circular economy practices through the use of scrap metal and waste recovery processes, intelligent production systems, including advanced digital manufacturing, modular and scalable design.
Furthermore, the Hydnum project has been declared a priority by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum in Davos as ‘one of the five most important projects worldwide in the field of industrial decarbonization.
Eva Maneiro, CEO of Hydnum Steel, commented: “I would like to thank the Spanish Government and in particular, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, for the support given through the Industrial Decarbonization PERTE. This aid represents recognition of the project’s transformative value and a firm commitment to a cleaner, more innovative and competitive national industry.”
Maneiro said that public-private partnerships are key to meeting the challenges of the ecological transition. “This institutional support allows us to take a firm step towards a new era in steel production in Europe,” she said.
Hydnum Steel will specialise in the production of hot-rolled flat steel, an essential material for sectors including the automotive industry, construction and renewable energy. Europe currently faces a structural deficit in the production of this type of steel, with more than 90% of consumption coming from traditional blast furnaces and a significant dependence on imports with a high carbon footprint.
Hydnum Steel has already secured the sale of 75% of its production for the first seven years of operation through strategic agreements with major companies in the sector including Gonvarri Industries, Thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe and Knauf Interfer.