The Spanish "green" steel mill Hydnum Steel (HS) has moved towards obtaining the status of a project of special interest (PSI), a legal designation that will accelerate its development and implementation, Kallanish notes.

HS is building the first facility on the Iberian Peninsula designed to use non-fossil energy throughout the entire production process and gradually introduce environmentally friendly hydrogen to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

On Wednesday, the Government of Castile—La Mancha initially approved the PSI and gave the go—ahead for public consultations and the issuance of a comprehensive environmental permit.

"PSI's goal is to create an industrial enterprise for the production of steel coils using environmentally friendly energy, so that the carbon footprint of the final product is reduced by 98% compared to that generated using existing processes based on BF — BOF technology," the agency said in a statement. The site covers an area of about 209 hectares between Puertollano and the La Nava Industrial Park.

"The public information includes studies to assess the state of the environment and impacts, as well as assets and rights related to the project, which may vary depending on any agreements that may be reached between the owners of these assets and HS," the government of Castilla — La reports. Mancha adds.

At the first stage of its operations, Hydnum Steel plans to produce 1.5 million tons of flat rolled products, and at subsequent stages it plans to increase production to 2.7 million tons. The cost of the project is about 1.55 billion euros ($1.8 billion). Construction work is scheduled to begin this year.

Author: Todor Kirkov

Kallanish.com