Adjustment of Steel process production to prepare for the transition towards climate neutrality (Clean Steel Partnership) (IA)

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Adaptation of the energy and materials flow in the existing steel installations to allow for a technically and economically feasible transition to reduce the use of fossil carbon as reducing agent;
• Reduction of carbon footprint by incrementally adapting to hydrogen and biomass as reducing agents;
• Showcase new technologies to reduce steelworks energy consumption by implementing improvements in the materials and energy flows whilst reducing fossil carbon related emissions;
• Develop technological pathways to increase the reutilization of internal process metallurgical gases by deploying advanced gas treatment solutions.

The proposals submitted under this topic are expected to provide concepts addressing the modifications of the existing installations of both primary and secondary steel production (BF/BOF, EAF, DRI) concerning the internal and external flows of energy and materials in order to re-use metallurgical gases (internal re-cycling) and to upgrade them with new sources (H₂), e.g. by replacement of fossil carbon as reducing agent with hydrogen and biomass.

This also includes the integrated preparation (reforming, separation, heating, compression) of external carbon-lean reducing gases or internally-recycled CO/CO₂ streams for efficient injection in the BF or use in conventional plants.

The concepts to be addressed under this topic are expected to address one or more of the following areas:

• Injection of hydrogen or hydrogen-rich metallurgical gases or biomass to directly avoid the usage of fossil carbon as reducing agent in BF or as heat source in EAF operation;
• New process technologies for co-injection and new injection ports for BF and DRI plants and for EAF technology;
• Advanced gas treatment solutions (purification, reforming, preheating) for steel plants process gases for the purpose of internal re-use;
• Integration of gas injection with CO₂ capture and storage technologies for the transition to CO₂ neutral steelmaking;
• Adaption of the energy and materials flow in the energy system of the steel production process with adjustments of gas distribution/combustion to new gas properties and amounts including new developments regarding the related process technology and control technology.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on Clean Steel.

Activities are expected to start at TRL 6 and achieve TRL 8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

Co-programmed European Partnerships