Spain-based steel producer Sidenor Group has announced that it has completed its first full combustion tests using green hydrogen in a critical stage of the steelmaking process, specifically ladle heating, marking a major advance in the decarbonization of high-temperature industrial operations.
At its Basauri steelworks in Spain, the company replaced the conventional natural gas burner with an oxy-combustion burner powered by hydrogen, enabling technicians to complete a full ladle-heating cycle and reach the temperatures required for production. According to Sidenor, this confirms the feasibility of using hydrogen as a clean substitute for fossil fuels in one of the most energy-intensive segments of steel manufacturing.
A milestone for hard-to-electrify processes
The tests are part of the IS2H4C project, which explores hydrogen applications in industrial processes that are difficult or impossible to electrify. Ladle heating typically requires extremely high and stable flame temperatures. By demonstrating that hydrogen can sustain these temperatures throughout the cycle, Sidenor validated its potential to reduce emissions in operations traditionally dependent on natural gas.