Hydrogen-Based Ironmaking Technology Validated

Four years after delivering two specialized automated sampling systems to the HYBRIT pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden, the results are conclusive:

Fossil-free steel production is technically viable at industrial scale and achieves zero carbon emissions.

M&W JAWO Sampling’s dual-system solutions delivered in 2019–2020, provided the quality assurance infrastructure essential to the pilot plant, validating hydrogen-based production by monitoring both raw material input and final product output.

The HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) initiative, led by SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall, has successfully completed its pilot phase and demonstrated that hydrogen can replace fossil fuels in ironmaking while producing steel of equivalent quality to traditional methods. The pilot plant has successfully produced more than 5,000 tonnes of fossil-free sponge iron and more than 1,000 tonnes of fossil-free steel, proving that the complete hydrogen-based production chain is operationally viable at semi-industrial scale.

• Fossil-free iron ore pellets are produced by replacing coal and coke in the pelletizing process with 100% renewable bio-oil.
• The fossil-free iron ore pellets are converted to sponge iron pellets (DRI) using pure hydrogen produced via electrolysis from renewable electricity (primarily hydropower), where oxygen is removed from the iron ore.
• The sponge iron pellets (DRI) are melted in an electric arc furnace (EAF) to produce crude steel by using fossil-free electricity and biocoal.

M&W JAWO Sampling’s systems validate quality at two critical control points:

• Incoming materials: Iron ore pellets are sampled and analyzed to ensure they meet required specifications before entering the hydrogen reduction process.
• Finished product: The resulting sponge iron (DRI) pellets are sampled and analyzed to verify that the hydrogen reduction process produces iron that meets the same quality specifications as coal-based methods.

Together, these systems ensure that the complete hydrogen-based production chain produces steel of equivalent quality to traditional coal-based methods while achieving zero carbon emissions (0.0 tonnes CO2e per tonne of steel, compared to 2.2 tonnes for conventional steelmaking).

Sponge Iron Pellets (DRI)

The Vezin Sampler employs a rotating cutter that captures a complete cross-section of the free-falling sponge iron pellet stream during each rotation, ensuring equal sampling probability for all particles. This complies with ISO 3082 principles and ensures statistically valid quality control data.

The extreme operating temperature (up to 800°C) required specialized engineering: Thick stainless-steel construction, replaceable wear plates on the cutter head, a high-temperature-adapted chain drive, a motor positioned at a safe distance from the heat source, and flanged inlet/outlet connections for seamless integration.