Gas transport group Snam said a 30 per cent blend of natural gas and hydrogen had been used for the first time to power furnaces at a steelmaker in northern Italy.

The trial, carried out at a plant near Milan belonging to Italy’s Giva Group, involved the use of the gas mix in the steelmaker’s internal gas distribution network.

Snam, Giva and certification and engineering consultancy RINA said the trial was a success and was a first step to gradually introducing zero-emission hydrogen in certain steelmaking production processes.

The use of the hydrogen and gas blend did not require any plant modifications and had no impact either on the equipment used or on the characteristics of the final heat-treated product, the collaborating companies said in a statement.

Governments and energy companies round the world are placing large bets on hydrogen playing a leading role in efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and help decarbonise energy-intensive industries like steel, heavy transport and chemicals.

However, without subsidies, the cost of green hydrogen remains too high to be profitable and converting furnaces and boilers to hydrogen is expected to be a long and costly process.

"In the medium to long term, hydrogen is in a position to become the solution for decarbonising steelmaking as well as all hard-to-abate industrial sectors," Snam CEO Marco Alvera said.

"This trial is a preparatory step to the gradual introduction of zero-emission hydrogen, initially blended with natural gas and then in pure form, in certain steelmaking production processes," Alvera said.

He added that Snam intended to make its infrastructure, research and expertise available to contribute to the creation of a national hydrogen supply chain in Italy.

Snam, Europe’s biggest gas pipeline operator, has been experimenting with a 10 per cent mix of hydrogen in part of its 33,000-kilometre natural gas network and has said 70 per cent of its natural gas grid is already made up of "hydrogen ready" pipes.

The companies said the permanent use of a 30 per cent green hydrogen blend, fuelled by renewable energy, at the three GIVA Group steel forging plants could cut carbon emissions by some 15,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to 7,500 cars.

The blend of natural gas and hydrogen was supplied by Sapio, an Italian company specialising in the production and marketing of industrial and medical gases.

Steel is also the material through which pipelines are made; these pipes will play a fundamental role in transporting hydrogen whereby supplying final customers, the statement said.

“The use of hydrogen in hard-to-abate industrial applications such as steelmaking will play a key role in achieving domestic and EU climate neutrality targets by 2050. Looking ahead, green hydrogen is the ideal solution for CO2-free steelmaking and processing,” it added.

Snam, a leading energy infrastructure company, is committed to having its infrastructure hydrogen-ready for transporting increasing amounts of hydrogen and to promoting its use in high-potential industrial sectors, including the iron and steel industry.