Environmental permit is given to Ovako´s hydrogen plant

On November 7, the Land and Environmental Court in Östersund approved and gave Ovako in Hofors the environmental permit to construct Sweden’s largest electrolyzer for production of fossil-free hydrogen*. An important and long-awaited announcement, which will enable a significant reduction in CO2 emissions from the heating of steel. With this gratifying decision, the hydrogen plant will be in operation before the summer of 2023.

The new hydrogen plant in Hofors will make Ovako the first in the world to heat steel with hydrogen prior to rolling, and is the next major step towards carbon neutral steel production by replacing LPG with fossil-free hydrogen. The technical solution will also enable large-scale and cost-effective production of hydrogen for applications like fossil-free freight using fuel-cell trucks. The investment is made in collaboration with Volvo Group, Hitachi Energy, H2 Green Steel and Nel Hydrogen.

There is a lot of work behind this and we, together with our partners, are extremely happy that the hydrogen plant will soon be in operation. It is an important step for the climate and for Ovakos journey towards zero emissions, says Rickard Qvarfort, Business Unit Manager Hofors-Hellefors.


2022-11-25