Howden, a leading global provider of air- and gas-handling products, technologies and services, has been selected to deliver a hydrogen storage compression solution for Hybrit, the world’s first fossil-free steel plant, in Svartöberget, Sweden.

A joint project between Sweden’s SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall, Hybrit is the “deployment of a unique pilot project for large-scale hydrogen storage’. This initiative leads the development of the world’s first fossil-free value chain for the iron and steel industry, to address renewable hydrogen storage. Hybrit supports the European Union’s Hydrogen Strategy and its ambition to “install at least 6GW of renewable hydrogen electrolysers in the EU by 2024 and at least 40GW by 2030”.

Howden has been contracted to supply a high-pressure diaphragm compression package designed to seamlessly integrate the storage cycle of the hydrogen production.

The hydrogen compression includes installation and commissioning of a packaged three-stage diaphragm compressor, while the hydrogen storage consists of a 100m³ facility built in an enclosed rock cavern some 30m below ground.

Salah Mahdy, Howden’s global director (hydrogen), said: “Our partnership with Hybrit demonstrates Howden’s capabilities in developing and delivering ‘state of the art’ hydrogen compressor solutions, based on our long-standing compression expertise. We have over 100 years’ experience in the compression of hydrogen, which is ideally placed to support the transition to a fossil-free energy system.

“We are thrilled to be working on this project, which has the potential to reduce Sweden’s total carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10%. The steel industry currently accounts for about 7% of the world’s global carbon emissions, so developing a zero-emission steel may, in the future, help to reduce emissions from iron and steel production worldwide.”