Russian steelmaker NLMK's subsidiary VIZ-Stal, a leading global producer of cold rolled electrical steel and the largest producer of grain-oriented (GO) steel in Russia, has announced that it has commenced the installation of a steam reforming facility that will replace the more expensive electrolysis method used during the process of electrical steel production. Once the facility commences operations, natural gas consumption for producing hydrogen by means of reforming will be reduced 37 times compared to the current method, reducing VIZ-Steel’s energy consumption by 86 million kWh per year.
This project worth over RUB 1 billion ($31.8 million) is being implemented in collaboration with Hydro-Chem USA as part of the company’s technical upgrade progam. Startup is scheduled for the fourth quarter this year.