Italy's Snam, partners test 30% gas/hydrogen blend at GIVA steel plant

Italian gas grid operator Snam said May 19 it had carried out with its partners the "world's first test" of a blend of natural gas with 30% hydrogen in the steelmaking process at a GIVA plant in northern Italy.

The trial involved the use of the hydrogen/gas mix to heat the furnaces of the Forgiatura A. Vienna plant near Milan, Snam, GIVA and certification company RINA said in a joint statement.

The use of the hydrogen and gas blend did not require any plant modifications and had no impact either on the equipment used or on the characteristics of the final heat-treated product, they said.

"In the medium to long term, hydrogen is in a position to become the solution for decarbonizing steelmaking as well as all hard-to-abate industrial sectors," Snam CEO Marco Alvera said.

"This trial is a preparatory step to the gradual introduction of zero-emission hydrogen, initially blended with natural gas and then in pure form, in certain steelmaking production processes," Alvera said.

He added that Snam intended to make its infrastructure, research and expertise available to contribute to the creation of a national hydrogen supply chain in Italy.

Snam is increasingly looking to adapt its business to embrace hydrogen and has said that 70% of its Italian network is already hydrogen-ready and would have no problem accepting blends of hydrogen.

It is estimated that the permanent use of a 30% green hydrogen blend, made using renewable energy, on the total gas consumed by the three GIVA Group steel forging plants for its industrial processes would lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions in the order of 15,000 mt/year, the partners said.

The blend of natural gas and hydrogen was supplied by Sapio, an Italian company specializing in the production and marketing of industrial and medical gases.