The construction of our hydrogen-fuelled Hydra pilot plant and our new hydrogen testing laboratories are progressing on schedule at our Centro Sviluppo Materiali in Castel Romano, Italy.

Our project team recently welcomed our top management to the construction site and gave a tour of what has been done so far in Hydra. Our open innovation research project aims to reduce emissions to mere kilograms of CO2 per tonne of steel and will make its ground-breaking technology available to the industry on the way to net zero.

The facility is set to feature a Direct Iron ore Reduction (DRI) tower and an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). The DRI plant, based on the cutting-edge ENERGIRON® Direct Reduction technology developed by our partners Gruppo Danieli and Tenova, together with the Tenova EAF will be able to melt up to 7 tonnes of green steel per hour.

Our new hydrogen lab facilities will enable us to extend our testing capabilities to qualify materials, components and equipment for H2 applications, ensuring a comprehensive and validated shift to hydrogen-based processes.