French electrolyser manufacturer McPhy is set to supply two 1MW electrolysers to ArcelorMittal’s Eisenhüttenstadt steel production site in Germany.

It was announced on Wednesday (April 5) that Vulkan Energiewirtschaft Oberbrücke (VEO) – a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and the city of Eisenhüttenstadt – and McPhy would build a pilot electrolysis plant and hydrogen refuelling station at the site.

The McPhy-supplied electrolysers will produce hydrogen for direct use in steel production, where it will first be used in the cold rolling mill. The onsite refuelling station will be used to refuel forklifts and trucks with some of the hydrogen produced.

Additionally, excess oxygen produced during the electrolysis process will be reused on site in production.

The pilot project has received support from the German state of Brandenburg, with funding of €5.1m ($5.5m) as part of the regional innovation cluster. Prof. Dr. Jörg Steinback, Minister of Economics for the State of Brandenburg, said, “The project couples the energy, industry and mobility sectors and helps to reduce CO2 emissions in steel production and in the state of Brandenburg in the long term.”