MENA well poised to be a green steel hub, report finds

MENA countries are well positioned to become a global green iron and steel hub, a newreport (pdf) from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found. The report highlights a number of advantages that could help facilitate the growth of a strong green steel market, including the availability of solar resources that will be used to produce green hydrogen competitively, and an already established iron market — mostly direct reduced iron (DRI) — which can gradually transition to be powered by clean sources.

MENA renewables advantage: The region has a potential renewable energy capacity of 361 GW, of which 194 GW are currently in various stages of construction, the report notes. Around 60% of this prospective capacity is earmarked for green hydrogen production, with most of the production dedicated to exports. MENA's renewable electricity is cost-competitive, with recent independent power producer contracts showing some of the cheapest global prices, with PV costs three times lower than the global average.

Big green hydrogen goals: Saudi Arabia plans to produce 2.9 mn tons per annum (Mtpa) of blue and green hydrogen by 2030. Oman is targeting 1 mn tons of renewable hydrogen production by 2030. The UAE is aiming for 1 Mtpa of green hydrogen by 2031. Egypt wants to meet 5% of the global demand for green hydrogen and Algeria is targeting 10% of the EU’s hydrogen imports by 2040.

It’s better to avoid exporting our green hydrogen…: Exporting green hydrogen is inefficient and costly, the report notes. Hydrogen shipping has its challenges including low efficiency, high pressures, and the need for extreme temperatures during conversion and reconversion which results in energy losses. Hydrogen can also leak out during transportation and its liquefaction consumes 30%-40% of its energy content. The clean hydrogen can be used to decarbonize domestic heating, road transport, and power generation, in addition to the significant carbon reductions it can achieve in the heavy-emitting fertilizer and steel production.

… andexport green steel instead: Major steelmakers around the world are considering importing green iron — iron produced using green hydrogen — rather than iron ore (raw material), making it essential for regions with competitive advantages to prioritize green iron production which would bring in more gains given it is higher on the green hydrogen supply chain. The region can also benefit from the EU’s carbon tax, which can see the bloc drift from importing carbon-intensive steel towards importing green DRI to supply local electric arc furnaces (EAFs). Egypt wants to address the EU to delay the implementation of the tax over concern about the potential consequences of the global energy transition on local industries. The region is already a hub for DRI with around 46% of the global production.

The region is already tapping into the market: The UAE’s largest steel producer Emirates Steel Arkan partnered with JFE Steel and Itochu Corporation last year to produce low-emission iron materials like hot briquetted iron (HBI) for international export. Oman’s Vulcan Green Steel — a subsidiary of Jindal Shadeed — plans to establish a USD 3 bn green steel factory in Duqm with a production capacity of 5 mn tons. Mitsui and Japan’s Kobe Steel are also exploring producing DRI in Oman’s Duqm through a low-emission process called Midrex. In September, Saudi Arabia’s solar developer Desert Technologies signed an agreement with Indian multinational conglomerate Essar Group to supply renewable energy solutions for the latter’s planned USD 4.5 bn flat steel complex in Ras Al Khair.

Capitalizing on the potential: The region already has an expanding iron ore supply to be used for DRI production, the report adds. Brazil’s metals and mining giant Vale, is planning to construct low-carbon iron ore “mega hubs” in the Middle East scheduled to begin next year. The metals company — which already operates a 9 mn tonnes pelletising plant in Oman — is planning to establish green briquette Mega Hubs in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The produced HBI is earmarked to supply EAF operations in the hubs for processing into green steel or transported to other customers.

Green hydrogen > CCUS blue hydrogen: While the role of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) in decarbonization is expected to be hailed as an effective tool to reduce emissions by some countries during COP28, the technology’s poor history shows it cannot be a key for decarbonization.In fact,steelmakers are backing hydrogen-ready DRI technology, not CCUS, to decarbonize blast furnace-based steelmaking, according to the report. The 2030 pipeline of hydrogen-ready DRI plants reached 84 mn tons, while that of CCUS on blast furnace-based steel plants is just 1 mn tonnes. CCUS also lacks storage options near the steel plants. MENA has the advantage of storage locations like the UAE’s first (and only) industrial-scale CCUS installation at a steel plant.