Hundreds of jobs are coming to Mississippi’s Pine Belt along with the first-ever green steel plant in the United States.
First reported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, Perry County will be the home of the Hydrogen-Fueled Zero Emissions Steel Making project, led by Swedish steel manufacturing giant SSAB. The project comes from a $1.5 billion investment from the Biden Administration to reduce carbon emissions by replacing coal burning with a green alternative to make steel.
Negotiations for up to $500 million in federal funding have begun for the Mississippi project and the construction of another green steel plant in Middletown, Ohio.
SSAB plans to use hydrogen from Hy Stor Energy and equipment from Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology (HYBRIT) to send green energy from its commercial-grade facility in Mississippi to the company’s existing furnace in Montpelier, Iowa to produce green steel.
“The first proposed green steel plant in the United States, supported by the Department of Energy, is a crucial step toward revitalizing American manufacturing, fostering healthier communities, and creating future-proof jobs,” Industrious Labs steel director Hillary Lewis said. “With this investment, the Biden administration has notched its first win in the global transition to green steel.”
SSAB estimates that this project would reduce emissions from the iron manufacturing process by 81 percent, providing a pathway for deep decarbonization of U.S. iron and steel production.
This project aims to generate an estimated total of 6,000 construction jobs and 540 permanent jobs. In addition, SSAB plans to engage the Perry County Small Business Development Center to solicit and support vendors, contractors, and sub-contractors for the project and subsequent facility operations.
SSAB will also look to partner with CERM Legacy Foundation to provide STEM-focused summer camp scholarships for qualifying high school students in underrepresented communities, assist curriculum development, and interact with students including offering field trips to the Perry County facility.
Proponents of the measure say using green energy to manufacture steel products will lower carbon emissions and make it safer for people living near the plants.
