Vale and GravitHy to research carbon neutral steel

The research will focus on studies to build a factory to produce briquettes from Vale’s high-grade iron ore through direct reduction, a steel making method.

Vale’s briquette is an iron ore agglomerate that reduces emissions in the steelmaking process in the blast furnace route and emits less CO₂ when compared to pellets. The product is part of the company’s plans to achieve its commitment to reduce scope 3 net emissions by 15% by 2035.

The briquette factory would be located in Fos-sur-Mer, France, next to GravitHy’s first direct reduction iron (DRI) plant.

GravitHy’s plant is designed to produce DRI using hydrogen as a reducing fuel, substantially cutting carbon emissions in the steelmaking chain when compared to the blast furnace route, and is set to be traded globally in the form of hot-briquetted iron (HBI).

“This reinforces Vale’s confidence in the direct reduction route and the use of hydrogen to enable the decarbonization of the steel industry,” the mining company said in a statement.

Vale also aims to achieve net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.

Source: Mining.com