Can Hydrogen Decarbonize Steel—Profitably? Utility Global’s Parker Meeks Has The ANSWER!

Hydrogen just took a real step forward in steel. Utility Global and ArcelorMittal Brazil are collaborating on a first-of-its-kind commercial project at the Juiz de Fora plant: taking blast-furnace gas straight into Utility’s H2Gen reactor to produce hydrogen and concentrate CO₂—inside an existing steelmaking footprint. In this episode, host Paul Rodden talks with Parker Meeks, President & CEO of Utility Global, about:Why steel is so hard to decarbonize—and why retrofits matterHow H2Gen handles variable, dilute blast-furnace gas and still delivers H₂The jump from ~18% CO₂ in off-gas to ~70% CO₂ at a single capture pointModular scaling from 3–15 tpd to 60–250+ tpdEconomics (targeting sub-$3/kg H₂ at scale), supply chains, and policy riskWhat this milestone signals for heavy industry and global hydrogen markets 🎧 Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of energy, innovation, and economics. 🔗 Press release link will be in the show notes. 👤 Guest: Parker Meeks, Utility Global (previously led major energy-transition efforts across industry). 👤 Host: Paul Rodden, The Hydrogen Podcast — the place for grounded hydrogen finance & strategy. Chapters (placeholder times—update after upload): 00:00 Intro & why this project matters 01:05 Steel’s decarb challenge (blast furnaces & realities) 03:20 The Brazil project: scope, site, and partners 05:10 Flare gas → hydrogen: footprint & uniqueness 06:45 H2Gen explained (reactor, cells, steam electrolysis) 09:00 Handling variable blast-furnace gas (turn-down / hot-standby) 11:10 From ~18% to ~70% CO₂: enabling lower-cost capture 13:05 Modular scale: 3–15 tpd → 60–250+ tpd 15:30 Economics & supply chain (sub-$3/kg target, no “unobtanium”) 18:00 Why Brazil? Signals for LatAm & Asia (JP/KR/IN) 20:10 Roadmap: steel, then biogas-to-mobility projects 22:00 Risks, tariffs, and doing it without subsidies 24:10 Investor takeaway: from concept to competitive reality 25:30 Closing & where this goes next CTA: If this helped, please Subscribe, tap Like, and share with a colleague in steel or heavy industry. Disclaimer: This content is for information only, not investment advice. Support the show