Oman steelmaker eyes green hydrogen for steel plant

Hydrogen Rise, Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel and Sohar Port and Freezone will review the plant which Hydrogen Rise is building to decarbonise processes at Jindal Shadeed’s steel manufacturing plant.

“Sohar is ideally-positioned to become a major exporter of green steel across the world and lead the way in facilitating the production, transportation and utilisation of clean hydrogen,” said Mark Geilenkirchen, chief executive of Sohar Port and Freezone.

“This agreement is the first major step towards developing a viable alternative to gas, which will promote sustainable practices for all industries operating within Sohar and attract new businesses to our clusters.”

The partners will assess whether the plant has the potential to produce steel sustainably, reducing the complex’s emissions and preserving gas reserves for other applications across the country.

After conducting techno-economic feasibility studies, the first phase will include the operation of a 35MW electrolyser capacity by mid-2024, paired with a solar renewable energy plant. Following this first phase, an upscaling path to a potential 350 MW electrolysis capacity will be evaluated.

“If successful, this mechanism can be rolled out to industrial zones across the country and around the world.”