SPM (Steel Processing Midlands), a UK-based steel service center, has signed a supply agreement with H2 Green Steel. The green steel will be delivered from H2 Green Steel’s flagship plant in northern Sweden and will represent 25% of SPM’s annual volumes. SPM is a privately owned steel and processing company whose customers are mainly in the automotive and construction industries in the UK.
The first steel mill in Europe in over half a century
H2 Green Steel was launched in 2021 with the goal of accelerating the decarbonization of hard-to-decarbonize industries, starting with steel. The construction of a modern, fully digitalized steel mill in northern Sweden has begun. It will be the first new steel plant in Europe in over half a century.
The plant will also include a green hydrogen production facility using renewable electricity, as well as the production of directly green reduced iron to feed the steel mill. By using green hydrogen instead of coal, this can reduce the CO2 emissions of the reduction process by up to 95%. By 2030, annual production will reach 5 million tons of green steel.
Green steel will become the best business option according to SPM
The contract between SPM and H2 Green Steel is a five-year agreement worth approximately €125 million, in which SPM secures 25% of its future annual steel demand. “Green steel is undeniably the future. It is the biggest change this industry has seen in a century and the speed of change is faster than many expect. As the cost of emissions begins to affect traditionally manufactured steel, green steel will quickly become the better business option of the two as governments push companies to reduce their CO2 emissions. We chose to go down this path early and H2 Green Steel is the right choice for us as they will offer the greenest steel with only 195 kg of CO2 emitted per ton of steel produced. We encourage others to join us on this journey to decarbonize the steel value chain and believe that companies that embrace this change early will have an advantage in their industry, especially since demand for these products could outstrip supply in the next five years,” said Nick Liggins, SPM’s commercial director.
