Vale and Hydnum Steel sign agreement to develop briquettes plant in Spain

Vale informed this Thursday, 8th, that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hydnum Steel to develop low-carbon solutions for steel production. The agreement includes the joint assessment of the possibility of building an iron ore briquette plant at Hydnum Steel's flagship green steel project in Puertollano, Spain.

The Hydnum plant will begin producing 1.5 million tonnes of rolled steel in 2026 and is projected to have an annual capacity of 2.6 million tonnes from 2030.

For Vale's Director of Product and Business Development, Rogério Nogueira, joining Hydnum in this project is another important step towards the objective of reducing scope 3 emissions, referring to the value chain, by 15% by 2035.

“The combination of our innovative, low-carbon briquette with the green steel produced by Hydnum will support our goal of achieving zero emissions in the steelmaking process”, he states in a statement.

Hydnum Steel's Strategy Director, Fernando Pessanha, highlights that the steel company contributes to an inexorable technological change in the global steel industry. “It demonstrates that the production of high-quality green steel is not only competitive, but also beneficial for the future of our planet.”

Vale notes that Hydnum Steel will be developed with state-of-the-art technology, designed to replace the use of fossil fuels with green hydrogen, thus contributing to the decarbonization of the sector.

For Vale, this MoU reinforces its confidence in the use of hydrogen to enable the decarbonization of the steel industry.

“Vale signed agreements to study decarbonization solutions together with more than 50 customers, which account for around 35% of the company's scope 3 emissions. Some of these solutions include the construction of briquette plants close to customer facilities”, recalls the company.

The briquette is a product developed by Vale in its technological center in Minas Gerais. It is produced from the low-temperature agglomeration of high-quality iron ore, using a technological binder solution, which gives the final product high mechanical resistance. It can be used as a metallic source in the direct reduction route, enabling the production of green steel. It can also be used in the blast furnace, reducing CO2 emissions by 10%.

The company recalls that in addition to the commitment to reduce 15% of net scope 3 emissions by 2035, Vale seeks to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, in line with the Agreement on Paris, leading the way to sustainable mining.