IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v381y2025ics0306261924024887.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green hydrogen transformation of the iron and steel production system: An integrated operating concept for system-internal balance, lower emissions, and support for power system stability

Author

Listed:
  • Fuhrlaender, David
  • Vermeulen, Ben
  • Schnuelle, Christian

Abstract

The green hydrogen transformation of the iron and steel industry is considered a technically viable option. Concretely, large-scale renewable energy generation and water electrolyzer capacity are to be added to the production system. Given that renewables are intermittent and H2 demand is high, there is continued reliance on the CO2 emitting upstream power system. This paper introduces a novel operating concept that regards an extended production system that includes not only the renewables and water electrolyzer but also a dedicated conventional generator and onsite customer and prioritizes loads with the aim to create an internal balance. The paper studies different production system configurations and load prioritization strategies, evaluating techno-economic properties, CO2 emissions, the internal balance, and the support for the stability of the upstream power system. It finds that local, emission-free production of H2 is not only techno-economically viable, but that the integrated operating concept leads to lower Scope I and II emissions and to significant reduction of electrical loads on the upstream power system.

Suggested Citation

  • Fuhrlaender, David & Vermeulen, Ben & Schnuelle, Christian, 2025. "Green hydrogen transformation of the iron and steel production system: An integrated operating concept for system-internal balance, lower emissions, and support for power system stability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 381(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:381:y:2025:i:c:s0306261924024887
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.125104
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924024887
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.125104?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marios Stanitsas & Konstantinos Kirytopoulos, 2023. "Sustainable Energy Strategies for Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Superchi, Francesco & Mati, Alessandro & Carcasci, Carlo & Bianchini, Alessandro, 2023. "Techno-economic analysis of wind-powered green hydrogen production to facilitate the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors: A case study on steelmaking," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    3. Felix Böing & Anika Regett, 2019. "Hourly CO 2 Emission Factors and Marginal Costs of Energy Carriers in Future Multi-Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-32, June.
    4. Boldrini, Annika & Koolen, Derck & Crijns-Graus, Wina & Worrell, Ernst & van den Broek, Machteld, 2024. "Flexibility options in a decarbonising iron and steel industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    5. Arent, Douglas J. & Green, Peter & Abdullah, Zia & Barnes, Teresa & Bauer, Sage & Bernstein, Andrey & Berry, Derek & Berry, Joe & Burrell, Tony & Carpenter, Birdie & Cochran, Jaquelin & Cortright, Ran, 2022. "Challenges and opportunities in decarbonizing the U.S. energy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Jan-Horst Keppler & Stefan Lorenczik, 2020. "Projected Costs of Generating Electricity: 2020 Edition," Working Papers hal-03998435, HAL.
    7. Le, Tay Son & Nguyen, Tuan Ngoc & Bui, Dac-Khuong & Ngo, Tuan Duc, 2023. "Optimal sizing of renewable energy storage: A techno-economic analysis of hydrogen, battery and hybrid systems considering degradation and seasonal storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    8. Matti Koivisto & Kaushik Das & Feng Guo & Poul Sørensen & Edgar Nuño & Nicolaos Cutululis & Petr Maule, 2019. "Using time series simulation tools for assessing the effects of variable renewable energy generation on power and energy systems," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), May.
    9. Sonja Renssen, 2020. "The hydrogen solution?," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(9), pages 799-801, September.
    10. Golmohamadi, Hessam, 2022. "Demand-side management in industrial sector: A review of heavy industries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    11. Buttler, Alexander & Spliethoff, Hartmut, 2018. "Current status of water electrolysis for energy storage, grid balancing and sector coupling via power-to-gas and power-to-liquids: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2440-2454.
    12. Decker, Maximilian & Schorn, Felix & Samsun, Remzi Can & Peters, Ralf & Stolten, Detlef, 2019. "Off-grid power-to-fuel systems for a market launch scenario – A techno-economic assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 1099-1109.
    13. Nikolai Voropai, 2020. "Electric Power System Transformations: A Review of Main Prospects and Challenges," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Jin, Peng & Jiang, Zeyi & Bao, Cheng & Hao, Shiyu & Zhang, Xinxin, 2017. "The energy consumption and carbon emission of the integrated steel mill with oxygen blast furnace," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PA), pages 58-65.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Caixin Yan & Zhifeng Qiu, 2025. "Review of Power Market Optimization Strategies Based on Industrial Load Flexibility," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-41, March.
    2. Lei Zhang & Yuxing Yuan & Su Yan & Hang Cao & Tao Du, 2025. "Advances in Modeling and Optimization of Intelligent Power Systems Integrating Renewable Energy in the Industrial Sector: A Multi-Perspective Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-50, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kim, Sunwoo & Choi, Yechan & Park, Joungho & Adams, Derrick & Heo, Seongmin & Lee, Jay H., 2024. "Multi-period, multi-timescale stochastic optimization model for simultaneous capacity investment and energy management decisions for hybrid Micro-Grids with green hydrogen production under uncertainty," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 190(PA).
    2. Shaojie Song & Haiyang Lin & Peter Sherman & Xi Yang & Chris P. Nielsen & Xinyu Chen & Michael B. McElroy, 2021. "Production of hydrogen from offshore wind in China and cost-competitive supply to Japan," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Li, Zichen & Xia, Yanghong & Bo, Yaolong & Wei, Wei, 2024. "Optimal planning for electricity-hydrogen integrated energy system considering multiple timescale operations and representative time-period selection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).
    4. Blanco, Herib & Leaver, Jonathan & Dodds, Paul E. & Dickinson, Robert & García-Gusano, Diego & Iribarren, Diego & Lind, Arne & Wang, Changlong & Danebergs, Janis & Baumann, Martin, 2022. "A taxonomy of models for investigating hydrogen energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Wassermann, Timo & Muehlenbrock, Henry & Kenkel, Philipp & Zondervan, Edwin, 2022. "Supply chain optimization for electricity-based jet fuel: The case study Germany," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    6. Gunther Glenk & Stefan Reichelstein, 2022. "Reversible Power-to-Gas systems for energy conversion and storage," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Superchi, Francesco & Moustakis, Antonis & Pechlivanoglou, George & Bianchini, Alessandro, 2025. "On the importance of degradation modeling for the robust design of hybrid energy systems including renewables and storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PD).
    8. Carlson, Ewa Lazarczyk & Pickford, Kit & Nyga-Łukaszewska, Honorata, 2023. "Green hydrogen and an evolving concept of energy security: Challenges and comparisons," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    9. Lifeng Du & Yanmei Yang & Luli Zhou & Min Liu, 2024. "Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential and Economics of Green Hydrogen via Water Electrolysis: A Systematic Review of Value-Chain-Wide Decarbonization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-37, May.
    10. Campion, Nicolas & Nami, Hossein & Swisher, Philip R. & Vang Hendriksen, Peter & Münster, Marie, 2023. "Techno-economic assessment of green ammonia production with different wind and solar potentials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Bak, Youngseok & Ryu, Hyuncheol & Choi, Gobong & Lee, Dongwoo & Lee, Jong Min, 2025. "Optimization of operational strategies for industrial applications of solar-based green hydrogen," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PD).
    12. Min, Gyubin & Choi, Saeyoung & Hong, Jongsup, 2022. "A review of solid oxide steam-electrolysis cell systems: Thermodynamics and thermal integration," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    13. Sheng, Kangling & Wang, Xiaojun & Si, Fangyuan & Zhou, Yue & Liu, Zhao & Hua, Haochen & Wang, Xihao & Duan, Yuge, 2024. "Rational capacity investment for renewable hydrogen-based steelmaking systems: A multi-stage expansion planning strategy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 372(C).
    14. Oliver Wagner & Thomas Adisorn & Lena Tholen & Dagmar Kiyar, 2020. "Surviving the Energy Transition: Development of a Proposal for Evaluating Sustainable Business Models for Incumbents in Germany’s Electricity Market," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    15. d'Amore-Domenech, Rafael & Leo, Teresa J. & Pollet, Bruno G., 2021. "Bulk power transmission at sea: Life cycle cost comparison of electricity and hydrogen as energy vectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    16. Tobias Hübner, 2020. "Small-Scale Modelling of Individual Greenhouse Gas Abatement Measures in Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-43, April.
    17. Engstam, Linus & Janke, Leandro & Sundberg, Cecilia & Nordberg, Åke, 2025. "Optimising power-to-gas integration with wastewater treatment and biogas: A techno-economic assessment of CO2 and by-product utilisation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PB).
    18. Narukulla, Ramesh & Chaturvedi, Krishna Raghav & Ojha, Umaprasana & Sharma, Tushar, 2022. "Carbon dioxide capturing evaluation of polyacryloyl hydrazide solutions via rheological analysis for carbon utilization applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    19. Ismael Guerrero & Carlos del Cañizo & Yuanjie Yu, 2024. "Yield Performance of Standard Multicrystalline, Monocrystalline, and Cast-Mono Modules in Outdoor Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-13, September.
    20. Trowell, K.A. & Goroshin, S. & Frost, D.L. & Bergthorson, J.M., 2020. "Aluminum and its role as a recyclable, sustainable carrier of renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:381:y:2025:i:c:s0306261924024887. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.