Linde Gaz Polska, in cooperation with ArcelorMittal Poland, will build a H₂ production plant on the premises of the Krakow branch, which will supply process gas to two galvanizing plants. The total investment will exceed $24 MM. The Kraków smelter will be able to use H₂ as early as the end of 2026.

Since 2018, ArcelorMittal Poland has not used coal as a fuel in its Kraków branch, and since July this year it has not produced coke there. The installations: the hot rolling mill and the cold rolling mill, as well as the galvanizing and sheet metal painting lines, currently operate exclusively on the basis of natural gas – explained Łukasz Skorupa, COO Flat Products and Quality and director of the Krakow branch. "We are currently completing a project to build H₂ furnaces, which allowed us to eliminate ammonia in the annealing plant. Its cost is $12.5 MM. The project with Linde, on the other hand, is to ensure a reliable supply of H₂ for our galvanizing plants. We are increasingly focusing on H₂," he added.

The plant will be built near the galvanizing plant, producing H₂ from natural gas. The investment has already begun, and design work is currently underway. In addition to H₂ fuel for galvanizing plants, the Krakow branch of ArcelorMittal Poland will also gain another environmental effect – it will completely eliminate ammonia from the process, which will increase the level of process safety of the plants.

"Since 2004, we have already invested nearly $600 MM in Kraków's rolling mills and galvanizing plants. We are constantly improving the quality of our products, expanding their product range, and at the same time gradually reducing our environmental impact," said Wojciech Koszuta, CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland. Hence the elimination of ammonia and the transition to H₂. The decarbonization of our company is not only about activities in the area of steel production, but also in the processing part," he concluded.

"As an expert with over a century of experience in the field of H₂ production, distribution and storage, we were able to offer ArcelorMittal the best solutions available in the H₂ sector, ensuring the highest level of operational plant safety and production process reliability," said Oleksandra Tuzhylina, CEO of Linde Gaz Polska.