Sweden's Stegra has announced plans to establish an iron ore briquettes plant in Brazil, utilizing green hydrogen as a sustainable alternative for steel production with a low carbon footprint.
The company has initiated discussions with Brazilian iron ore miner, Vale, which is exploring options to increase its portfolio of products destined to low-carbon steel production.
Under Stegra’s plans, Vale’s high-grade iron ore would be processed with green hydrogen and subsequently sold to steel plants across Europe and Asia.
Stegra indicated that Brazil possesses extensive sources of renewable and cost-effective energy suitable for producing green hydrogen. Luiza Orre, Stegra's director, highlighted that European steel producers do not need to maintain the complete steel production chain within their domestic borders, thereby facilitating the decarbonization process using imported HBI produced from green hydrogen.
Some green hydrogen plants are already operational in Brazil's northeastern region.