US-based decarbonisation tech company Utility Global (Utility) has produced hydrogen from blast furnace gas at a North American steel plant using its electrochemical reactor. Unlike conventional electrolysis, the system requires no electricity, potentially lowering emissions and operational costs for steelmakers.
Steelmaking is carbon-intensive and accounts for around 7% of global CO2 emissions. While green hydrogen is a potential decarbonisation solution, its production via electrolysis requires renewable electricity and infrastructure investment. Utility said its system converts industrial off-gases into hydrogen while capturing CO2 for reuse or storage.
Utility has tested the technology for over 3,000 hours at a major steel plant.
Known as H2Gen, the modular system is designed to integrate with steelmaking operations and can restart within 15 minutes after a feedgas disruption, according to Utility.
“Our H2Gen systems provide an economic, modular solution without the high costs and infrastructure barriers of alternative hydrogen technologies,” said Utility CEO Parker Meeks.
Hydrogen recovery from steel plant off-gases is not a new concept, with several technologies exploring ways to extract and utilise hydrogen from industrial emissions.
Companies such as Linde, Air Liquide, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have developed gas separation and reforming technologies to produce hydrogen from coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, and basic oxygen furnace gas. These methods often rely on pressure swing adsorption or membrane separation to extract hydrogen while reducing the carbon intensity of steelmaking.
The need to decarbonise steel production has driven interest in hydrogen-based solutions, particularly in regions with stringent emissions regulations. Hydrogen produced from off-gases can be used to supplement natural gas in reheating furnaces, for powering fuel cells, or even for reinjecting into direct reduced iron processes to lower carbon emissions.
The EU and North America have both introduced funding initiatives to support hydrogen-based steelmaking.