LKAB Reports Successful Hydrogen Storage Pilot

LKAB has announced the successful completion of the HYBRIT pilot project for large-scale fossil-free hydrogen gas storage, reporting the results to the Swedish Energy Agency. The pilot facility, located in Luleå, Sweden, was tested for its ability to support industrial-scale hydrogen use, with findings indicating that integrating storage into hydrogen production can reduce variable operating costs by up to 40%.

The facility, based on steel-lined rock cavern technology, has undergone accelerated testing equivalent to 50 years of operation. LKAB states that the results confirm the viability of hydrogen storage as part of the transition to fossil-free sponge iron production. Optimized operation demonstrated cost savings of 26-31% in practice, while future commercial applications could improve efficiency further.

“Hydrogen is an important part of LKAB’s future strategy and journey towards carbon dioxide-free processes and products. We have yet to make any decisions on hydrogen gas storage, but the successful results from the pilot give us good conditions when we review the needs and opportunities for storage in conjunction with our planned sponge iron production facilities.” said Jenny Greberg, Vice President Technology at LKAB.

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