LONDON, UK: Ironveld Energy has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with BurnStar Technologies (Pty) Limited to proceed towards a binding Legal Agreement under which BurnStar will, implement its patent-pending ‘Guilt-Free Hydrogen technology, to process Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on site at Ironveld’s Rustenburg smelter.

Under the Agreement, BurnStar will produce hydrogen as a furnace reductant gas which could significantly reduce Ironveld’s carbon consumption and enable Ironveld to produce premium priced ‘green metals’ in South Africa.

Martin Eales, CEO of Ironveld, said: “This is a hugely significant step for Ironveld. Our partnership with BurnStar will allow us to benefit from an on-site supply of hydrogen at extremely attractive prices, which has the potential to virtually eliminate carbon consumption from our production process and achieve ‘green metal’ end products.

This may lead to Ironveld having the ability to certify its end products, ensuring that their sustainability credentials are reflected in their market value. We look forward to finalising the formal Legal Agreement with Dr Brand and his team in the coming months.”

Dr Johan Brand, CEO of BurnStar, said: “Our technology produces “Turquoise Hydrogen” which stands apart from ‘grey’ and ‘blue’ hydrogen because no CO2 is produced during pyrolysis of the LNG.

Furthermore, all the carbon produced can be sold as a bio-char replacement in fertilizer and will therefore become permanently sequestered. The plant is scheduled to be installed before year end and will demonstrate ‘Guilt-Free Hydrogen’™ commercialisation at a large-scale industrial facility.”

The LOI states that Ironveld Energy and BurnStar Technologies intend to enter into the binding Agreement under which BurnStar will supply and install, at its own cost, a plant at Ironveld’s Rustenburg smelter capable of producing hydrogen from LNG at the rate of five kilograms (“kg”) per hour.

The agreement will be conditional on Ironveld Energy finalising its supply of LNG to the smelter, negotiations for which are already underway to feed the solar-hybrid power generation plant currently being installed.

A reducing agent (reductant) is used in the smelting process to change the oxidation state of metal ore (to ‘decompose’ it), driving off unwanted elements, such as gasses or slag, and leaving the metal base behind. Typically, the reducing agent used is a form of carbon, for example anthracite, which in Ironveld’s process is mixed with the magnetite ore inside the furnaces.

Much research has been undertaken into the possibilities of using hydrogen as a reducing agent in smelting processes, including iron ore and scrap iron and steel. Iron and steel makers are actively developing processes and technologies to replace carbon-based reductants with hydrogen. The first green steel produced using hydrogen was shipped from Sweden by Hybrit (a joint venture between steelmaker SSAB, Vattenfall and LKAB) in August 2021.

Once the BurnStar plant is established at the Rustenburg smelter, and is producing hydrogen, Ironveld intends to evaluate its use as the reducing agent in its smelting process. The hydrogen will be supplied by BurnStar Technologies at costs at or below current market rates. If successfully applied to Ironveld’s production, this will enable the Company to significantly reduce its carbon consumption over and above the benefits of the solar-hybrid power plant, due to be commissioned in Q3 2023. This will also reduce overall production costs and, crucially, enable production of ‘green metals’, which command premium pricing in the market.

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