Vale, GEP partner to set Brazilian green hydrogen sector

Vale (NYSE: VALE) and Green Energy Park (GEP), an integrated European hydrogen company, have joined forces to explore opportunities for green hydrogen production in Brazil. 

The partnership falls under Vale’s ambitious “Mega Hubs” initiative, which aims to produce hot briquetted iron (HBI) and other steel products with significantly lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than conventional methods.

Vale has been seeking partners to help position Brazil among the first countries to develop a green hydrogen industry. The government sees green hydrogen, a clean energy source that only emits water vapour and leaves no residue in the air, as a “real possibility” to expand the country’s role in renewable energy sectors.

For Vale, this partnership aligns with its broader decarbonization goals. The company is focusing on low-carbon innovations for the steel industry, with a target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Vale and GEP said their first goal is to jointly assess the feasibility of establishing a green hydrogen plant in Brazil. The facility would eventually supply one of the mega hubs that Vale plans to develop in the home country.

“This is a win-win partnership for Brazil and Europe,” Ludmila Nascimento, Vale’s director of energy and decarbonization, said in a statement. “We are leveraging Brazil’s competitive advantages, such as high-quality iron ore and abundant renewable energy, to potentially develop green hydrogen supply, which will enable the offer of a ‘green’ iron with high added value to European steelmakers.”

Bart Biebuyck, chief executive officer of GEP, noted the tie-up was a major milestone on the company’s journey. “We are proud to work with the largest producer of direct reduction pellets in the world to help decarbonize the steel sector,” he said.

Coal out of the equation

The iron and steel sector is responsible for around 8% of global carbon emissions, largely due to the use of coal in blast furnaces. 

For every tonne of steel produced in blast furnaces about 2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent are released into the atmosphere. In contrast, the companies said, the HBI produced with green hydrogen as the reducing agent when supplied to Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs), reduces carbon emissions to roughly 0.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per tonne of steel produced, accounting for all emissions along the value chain. This process results in an 80% reduction in emissions, enabling “green steel” production.

Vale and GEP, supported by Europe’s Global Gateway program, said they would collaborate on various aspects of the hydrogen value chain, including the deployment of electrolyzers, the design of industrial plants for green hydrogen and its derivatives, as well as other industrial decarbonization applications of renewable hydrogen.

GEP had previously collaborated with Brazil’s Eletrobras to explore green energy prospects, while Vale has set up comparable partnerships with H2GS and Hydnum Steel as it considers establishing “mega hubs” in various nations.