Today, in the presence of Ryszard Śmiałek, Deputy Governor of Małopolska; Łukasz Smółka, Marshal of the Małopolska Region; and Stanisław Mazur, Deputy Mayor of Krakow, representatives of ArcelorMittal Poland officially launched hydrogen furnaces in the annealing plant of the Krakow unit. The project, with the value of PLN 52 million is one of the two investments within the package worth PLN 100 million. The second undertaking is the implementation of a new galvanizing coating.
The Krakow plant is famous for the production of sheet metal, which perfectly fits the needs of customers from i.a. white goods and construction industries. The installation launched today is located in the annealing plant of the cold rolling mill and cost PLN 52 million. Annealing is a metal heat treatment process improving its plastic properties.
- Sheet metal production is Krakow's specialty. Thanks to the hydrogen furnaces that we have launched in the annealing plant, we will achieve greater sheet cleanliness, and thus better product quality. The environmental aspect of the project is also important - in the process we stopped using ammonia, for generating the protective atmosphere – a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen. Currently the protective atmosphere is 100% hydrogen and the annealing time was halved. This, in turn, reduced the consumption of utilities, thanks to which we reduced CO2 emissions by 50 percent - comments Wojciech Koszuta, CEO and chairman of the Management Board of ArcelorMittal Poland. – Another project currently underway is the implementation of a new galvanizing coating. It will allow us to, firstly, lower the use of zinc in the process, and thus to reduce the extraction of this metal from natural deposits, and secondly, to increase the durability and corrosion resistance of the products covered with it. The value of these two investments is almost PLN 100 million - he adds.
The hydrogen furnaces launched today are not the end of the hydrogen revolution at the Krakow plant. Linde Gaz Polska, in cooperation with ArcelorMittal Poland, has started the construction of a hydrogen production plant. It is hydrogen that will be the fuel for the two galvanizing plants operating in the Krakow unit as early as next year. The cost of this project is another PLN 100 m.
"Hydrogen is undoubtedly the fuel of the future. Almost the whole world sees in it an extraordinary potential and a way to move away from fossil fuels. Małopolska also sees it and wants to use it - for the good of domestic companies and the entire region. Today, on the occasion of this event, we show that the innovation of the region is not built alone. Good cooperation between the local government, the world of science and the business sector is crucial for this goal ," said Łukasz Smółka, Marshal of the Małopolska Region.
"I am glad that Krakow – a city with ambitious climate goals and a signatory of the Krakow Climate Contract – is becoming a place for the development of modern, low-emission technologies. Thank you and congratulations to ArcelorMittal for having the courage to invest in the future. This is an example that industry and care for the environment can go hand in hand – for the benefit of residents, the economy and future generations," concluded Stanisław Mazur, Deputy Mayor of Krakow.
ArcelorMittal Poland in Kraków currently operates two modern processing plants: the most modern hot rolling mill in Europe and a cold rolling mill with galvanising and organic coating lines. Since 2004, the company has already invested PLN 2.7 billion in the processing part of the Kraków unit.
