The managing director of Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Group, Miguel López, called for the construction of new hydrogen pipeline from Morocco to Southern Europe, Spain and Portugal specifically, according to an article published by Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ).
He said it will be difficult to cover Germany’s enormous hydrogen needs, adding that setting up green steel production in Duisburg would also require a hydrogen supply. The company needs a connection to the central hydrogen network that Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) is planning to establish.
The hydrogen requirements of the new DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) plant are huge. In the plant, coal and coke are replaced by natural gas, then hydrogen, to extract oxygen from iron ore.
The resulting sponge iron is then smelted in an intermediate stage. In Duisburg, the plant is set to replace conventional blast furnace operations. López pointed out that the first green steel plant already under construction in Duisburg could also run on natural gas.
However, in the event of excessive use of natural gas instead of hydrogen, Thyssenkrupp Steel would no longer be entitled to the full public subsidy, but rather, only to a fraction of the approximately two billion euros.
“Quotas have been set aside for the use of green hydrogen, and these are linked to parts of the public subsidy. One of our objectives is to stimulate the hydrogen economy in Germany.” Thyssenkrupp is also looking for energy partners all over the world,” continued López.
Morocco is one of the top six high-potential countries in the MENA region, according to a report by the World Economic Forum entitled, “Low-Carbon Hydrogen Roadmap for the Middle East and North Africa.” The compendium assessed the MENA region’s hydrogen readiness, identifying six “high-potential” countries for the development of low-carbon energies.
In addition to Morocco, the report cites Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as possessing such high potential for this endeavor.