In a 2021 interview, Danieli Group Chairman Gianpietro Benedetti predicted the setback in the steelmaking market that occurred between 2022 and 2023. He also addressed the advantages and disadvantages of the technologies used in green steel production.
Danieli Group Chairman: pros and cons of hydrogen in steelmaking
Thanks to his extensive experience in the field, in 2021 Gianpietro Benedetti was able to predict the setback that would have affected steel producers between 2022 and 2023. During an interview with “Metal Market Magazine”, Danieli Group Chairman talked about a “move back down” that would have followed the very profitable moment that steelmakers were living in 2021. He also anticipated that the trends related to green steel production would have kept growing, revealing all the pros and cons of each possible solution. On hydrogen, for example, Gianpietro Benedetti claimed: “If we talk more generally about carbon dioxide emissions everyone is talking about hydrogen, but in my opinion, there is a little problem on this”. He referred to the fact that though hydrogen can easily fit into the picture as a replacement for the natural gas used in DRI production modules, it still requires a substantial amount of energy. “To make hydrogen today – pointed out Danieli Group Chairman – for 1 kg you need 50-60 kWh. This means you may need some kind of new technology to provide it”. That is the reason why he stressed the importance of diversification of the energy supply. Additionally, Gianpietro Benedetti talked about the necessity of “some kind of duty, or some kind of control on imported steel”, like carbon border taxes, for the steel imported from countries like China and India where green transition requires a longer time.
Danieli Group’s innovative solutions in the transition to a greener steel production
One thing is clear: steel industry needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and it has to do so by using all the means available. Hydrogen is in fact just one of the solutions. Danieli Group, as stressed by his Chairman, is at the forefront in delivering the best technologies to face big challenges like that linked to green transition. Eliminating the reheating furnace is, for example, another valid solution. “We are strong believers in direct rolling”, said Gianpietro Benedetti who then moved on to talking about the progress made in EAFs. He underlined all the improvements made in terms of efficiency and reduction of emissions. The company has been using the Digimelter, a technology that has very close to net zero emissions. “We just inject carbon into the furnace to produce the required [grade of] steel”, explained the Chairman. In 2021, Danieli Group was already building the first, totally new EAF, for Commercial Metals in the USA. As reported by Gianpietro Benedetti, the first experiment showed that the company would have been able to reduce 30% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the EAF because of that. The Italian company claimed that, by adopting all the available solutions, it will soon be able to reduce emissions up to 95% compared to an integrated plant.
