The largest Dutch emitter of CO2, steel maker Tata Steel, is investing millions into a potential hydrogen-powered steel factory.

Last year, following pressure from politicians and environmental groups, the factory announced it would speed up its transition to clean energy. Now, as a first step, it is investing €65 million in designing the factory.

‘We want to know more clearly how much it will cost, and that is of course also important before you can give final approval to such a huge project,’ the company’s sustainability director Annemarie Manger told Radio 1.

The new factory would use ‘direct reduced iron,’ employing hydrogen or natural gas to process the iron ore. The company plans to close its two coal plants and open the greener plant by 2037 at the latest.

The IJmuiden factory has been at the centre of controversy about pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The public prosecution service opened a criminal probe into the plant earlier this year to investigate allegations that Tata Steel ‘intentionally and unlawfully’ dumped dangerous chemicals into the air and soil.