Utility is a company that provides sustainable business solutions to contribute to an affordable transition to a low-carbon future. The company recently announced a breakthrough in its H2Gen System. According to the firm, the H2Gen system operated successfully at a major steel plant in North America, using gas from the plant’s blast furnace to produce hydrogen. 

The company calls it a “world’s first” in the industry.

Using Steel For Hydrogen

The H2Gen system installed in a steel plant to produce hydrogen
The H2Gen system installed in a steel plant to produce hydrogen; Photo: Utility

Using the H2Gen system, steel manufacturing emissions were used to produce hydrogen in a single-step process under on-site conditions. In addition, it was the first successful application of a system to turn water into hydrogen without the need for electricity. According to a press release, the H2Gen system is a major step towards reaching the complex clean energy solutions that the steel industry is trying to achieve.

The company says it is a cost-effective and commercially available solution that “easily integrates” with existing assets.

“Decarbonizing heavy industries like steel, mobility, chemicals, refining, and power has been one of the toughest challenges in the energy transition — until now,” said Parker Meeks, Utility’s CEO. Utility successfully operated the system for over 3,000 hours at a major steel plant to demonstrate its cost-effective and seamless integration capabilities.

Meeks said, “Our successful deployment of H2Gen at a major steel plant proves we can deliver scalable, economic, clean hydrogen solutions that seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure and assets.”

The company claims that H2Gen Solutions consistently produces hydrogen without the need for electricity while handling a wide variety of feed gas conditions. For example, they say that the system could restart in less than 15 minutes after feed gas outage events.

“H2Gen is the only commercially viable solution for producing clean hydrogen in hard-to-abate industries like steelmaking,” Meeks added. “Utility is rapidly scaling to meet global demand, with strong momentum in steel, biogas-to-hydrogen for mobility and beyond.”