Luxury carmaker BMW has today (20 October) announced its new partnership with H2 Green Steel, a Swedish startup that is using hydrogen and renewable energy to create fossil fuel-free steel. The startup is currently building its first ever industrial-scale production facility in Norrbotten, northern Sweden.
Steel production remains one of the most carbon-intensive processes, and efforts to transition to cleaner methods is a growing priority for a number of industries, including automotive. To decarbonise the process at its Norrbotten facility, H2 Green Steel will be using locally-sourced iron ore in addition to wind and hydropower to produce on-site green hydrogen, which will replace the traditional coke in the manufacturing process.
According to a press release from BMW, this process will allow the company to produce steel with up to 95% less CO2 emissions than conventional methods. This green metal is anticipated to be integrated into BMW’s supply chain from 2025 onwards.
“Our goal is to reduce CO2 emissions in our steel supply chain by about two million tonnes by 2030. Sourcing steel produced using hydrogen and green power can make a vital contribution to this,” says Dr Andreas Wendt, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network. “Steel is essential for producing cars and will be no less important for future vehicle generations. Innovative technologies that enable virtually carbon-free production of steel have a significant impact on our ability to reduce CO2 emissions in our steel supply chain.”
BMW is also set to help close the loop on materials at the facility, reclaiming sheet metal and other metal debris to make recycled steel coils. Repurposing these materials is also expected to help lower carbon emissions, as the process requires less energy to produce than virgin materials- curbing emissions by an average of 50-80% as compared to primary material.
The BMW Group reportedly already sources between 20-100% of its metal from secondary steel, and intends to continue increasing this figure in the future.
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