Spain-based industrial engineering company Sarralle has announced the completion of a green hydrogen combustion system at ArcelorMittal’s Olaberria steel plant in Spain. According to Sarralle, the project proves that hydrogen-based combustion can already be deployed at industrial scale.
Developed in collaboration with Japan-based Nippon Gases, the installation replaces traditional air-natural gas burners with hydrogen-based oxy-fuel burners. These advanced units combine pure oxygen and renewable hydrogen for combustion, dramatically improving thermal efficiency while ensuring cleaner flue gases. Because hydrogen combustion produces only water vapor, the process becomes a model for zero-carbon reheating operations.
Reheating furnaces typically account for up to 80 percent of a steel plant’s total fuel consumption, making them among the most energy-intensive assets in steelmaking. By switching from fossil fuels to green hydrogen, Sarralle’s system significantly reduces the carbon footprint of steel production, a crucial milestone for a sector responsible for nearly nine percent of global carbon emissions.