COPENHAGEN, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Swedish metal and hydrogen company H2 Green Steel said on Wednesday it has signed multi-year deals with miners Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Vale VALE3.SA for the supply of iron ore pellets from Canada and Brazil.

H2 Green Steel plans to build a plant in Boden in Sweden that will use the so-called direct reduced iron (DRI) production process. DRI production is estimated to cause significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than traditional manufacturing methods.

H2 Green Steel had earlier hoped to buy direct reduction (DR) pellets – the input material for its steel – from Swedish state-owned LKAB’s mine in nearby Lulea.

H2 Green Steel said in a statement the pellets from Rio Tinto’s joint venture Iron Ore Company of Canada would account for a significant part of the supply to its plant.

It did not disclose the value of the deals with Vale and Rio Tinto.

The Swedish start-up expects to begin operations at its plant, which it says will produce near zero carbon dioxide emissions steel, in 2025.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom and Terje Solsvik)

((Louisebreusch.rasmussen@tr.com; +45 21 27 97 79;))

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