Iron-ore giant Vale is considering developing industrial complexes in the US and Brazil as part of a push to produce greener steel, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The world’s No. 2 producer of the steelmaking ingredient has an eye on incentives from the US Inflation Reduction Act for the initiative, Corporate and External Affairs VP Alexandre D’Ambrosio said on the sidelines of a mining event.
Under the proposal, Vale would build briquetting plants that would feed third-party direct reduction facilities on the same site. That process uses natural gas instead of coke, thereby lowering emissions. In the future, gas could be replaced by green hydrogen. Vale’s already using that model in the Middle East as it seeks steelmakers for decarbonizing partnerships.
“Brazil would be a fantastic place to build the mega hubs. We have abundant renewable energy. We don’t even need incentives in Brazil as long as we produce green hydrogen,” he said. “The US is encouraging the production of green hydrogen.”
