GravitHy – A sustainable iron and steel company
Backed by EIT InnoEnergy, Engie New Ventures, FORVIA, GROUPE IDEC, Plug, and Primetals Technologies, GravitHy plans to build, own and operate its first green iron and steel plant in France. The global investment for the first plant is planned to be 2,2B€ and will lead to the creation of around 3,000 new jobs.
A company composed of EIT InnoEnergy, the innovation engine forsustainable energy supported by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology, a body of the European Union (EU), Engie New Ventures, Plug, FORVIA, GROUPE IDEC through GROUPE IDEC INVEST INNOVATION and Primetals Technologies, today launch GravitHy – a future market leader in green iron.
The sustainable iron company willsupportthe growing demand forzero carbon steel,whilst contributing to Europe’s “Fit for 55” package ambitions to decarbonise hard‐to‐abate industries. The project, which plans to mobilise 2,2B€ worth of investment at commissioning, will build its first plant in the area of Fos sur Mer, Southern France, with construction commencing in 2024. The company aims for the plant to be fully operational by 2027, subject to the required regulatory approvals. GravitHy has an ambition to produce an annual throughput of 2 million tons of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and to create over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs for the region.
The steel sector is responsible for 8% of the global energy demand and 7% of the energy sector CO2 emissions (including process emissions) annually – making it one of the biggest carbon emitting industries. GravitHy supportsthe emissionsreduction of thisindustry by generating and using green and low‐carbon hydrogen to produce DRI. The DRI will be used either on‐site as a feedstock for green steel or traded globally under the form of Hot‐Briquetted Iron (HBI). This directly contributes to the decarbonisation of the hard‐to‐abate value chain of steelmaking and supports the EU’s ambition of carbon neutrality by 2050.
GravitHy’s roster of world‐class founders has been brought together on the basis of cross‐sector collaboration and competence sharing. EIT InnoEnergy, the world’s largest investor in sustainable energy innovations, will provide its business acceleration services through its European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Center (EGHAC), supported by Breakthrough Energy. EGHAC, was set up to serve as a key enabler of industrial value chains and clean tech innovation, with the aim of developing an annual €100B green hydrogen economy by 2025. Engie offers deep knowledge of hydrogen, renewables and electricity markets. Plug offers experience on integrated hydrogen projects and is a leading manufacturer of electrolysers. The GROUPE IDEC, a major player in all segments of the real estate market (development, investment, design‐build, energy) and will provide servicesfor the industrialsite. Primetals Technologies provides cutting edge technology and expertise to enable green and low carbon steel production, whilst FORVIA represents the off‐take side of the value chain.
