Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that it has successfully completed a hydrogen (H2) injection trial at its Indiana Harbor #7 blast furnace, the largest blast furnace in North America. This represents the second Cleveland-Cliffs blast furnace to utilize hydrogen as a reductant and fuel source, following the successful trial at Middletown Works in May of 2023. Indiana Harbor #7 is among the largest blast furnaces in the entire world, both in size and production capacity.

IH#7 also compares favorably against similar equipment in Japan, Korea, China or Europe, for its technological capability to support the production of high-end steels, including highly specified automotive feedstock. Cliffs recently completed the commissioning of the hydrogen pipeline at Indiana Harbor, which was used for this trial. This successful commissioning marks another significant achievement toward Cliffs?

future GHG reduction efforts, completing the pipeline in advance of schedule, below budget and without incident. Cliffs' hydrogen gas supplier, Linde, was a critical partner in the successful execution of this major trial.