Steel and technology company voestalpine has strengthened its green hydrogen infrastructure with the installation of two Hiperbaric high-pressure compressor units at its Linz plant in Austria.
This equipment enables the compression of green hydrogen produced at H2FUTURE, one of the world’s longest-running hydrogen pilot plants dedicated to industrial-scale hydrogen production and research, a joint research project of the international steel and technology group voestalpine and Austria’s largest electricity supply company VERBUND.
Hiperbaric’s technology, based on the KS50 PRO model, enables green hydrogen compression up to 500 bar under the strictest safety, efficiency, and purity standards. This system is critical for the storage and subsequent use of hydrogen in innovative processes such as HYFOR® (Hydrogen-based Fine Ore Reduction), aimed at progressively replacing fossil fuels with clean energy vectors in steel production.
Eco-design and Scope 3 emissions reduction
Hiperbaric, a provider of high-pressure technologies, has integrated voestalpine’s sustainable steel into its own value chain. Since the start of the greentec steel supply, Hiperbaric has achieved a cumulative saving of approximately 430 t of emissions.
In the production of the ‘greentec steel Edition,’ voestalpine applies process optimisation that avoids up to 10% of emissions at the Linz plant using the traditional blast furnace route (BOF). This direct reduction of the product’s carbon footprint allows Hiperbaric to decrease its Scope 3 emissions, ensuring maximum transparency through an allocation model validated by independent third parties (LRQA).
Andrés Hernando, CEO of Hiperbaric, highlights the strategic importance of this material choice: “The search for technical and operational excellence in our high-pressure equipment begins with a rigorous selection of materials. Using low-emission steel guarantees a high-quality and more sustainable supply for our technology.”
An industrial sustainability circle and 15 years of partnership
This industrial synergy establishes an efficient collaboration model within the European market: voestalpine utilises Hiperbaric’s compression technology to scale its green hydrogen production, while Hiperbaric employs voestalpine’s low-emission steel to manufacture its high-pressure equipment.
This technical feedback is not the result of a one-off agreement but is backed by a solid 15-year track record of collaboration between both companies in supply and development. This historic alliance bolsters the competitiveness of both firms and consolidates the viability of a climate-neutral heavy industry based on trust and shared innovation.