Project description
Hybrid technologies for low-CO2 steel manufacturing
Steel production is an energy-intensive process that generates a significant environmental footprint. Although hydrogen technology is decarbonising upstream processes in Europe today, downstream processes still exclusively depend on natural gas during thermal treatment and reheating. The EU-funded HyTecHeat project aims to validate hybrid heating technologies based on natural gas with the progressive increase of hydrogen in downstream processing. It will create a prototype multifuel combustion system that will be tested in three pilot studies to achieve technology readiness level 7. It will also assess the resulting steel quality and determine optimal operating conditions to ensure that there are no defects in the final product.
Objective
Currently, NG is normally substituted by hydrogen in upstream processes (both blast furnace and DRI), or limited application in finishing lines. Current downstream processes totally rely on NG burning as thermal source. Therefore, the massive usage of hydrogen in steel industry, as envisioned in the Carbon Direct Avoidance pathway of the ESTEP/EUROFER masterplan, requires a transformation of entire steelmaking process from liquid production process (UPSTREAM) to the rolling and finishing line (DOWNSTREAM). This research project is aimed at adopting hybrid heating technology (based on NG with progressive and increasing H2 utilization) in downstream processes. Thermal treatment and reheating processes, which are common to both BF and EAF route have a significant NG demand (about 50 Nm3/t of produced steel). also utilization for ladle preheating has a relevant NG demand (in the range 5-15 Nm3/t). In order to allow the shift from NG to H2 and consequently to reduce the environmental impact by using innovative combustion technologies (like flameless and oxyfuel combustion), impacts on steel quality, refractory and furnace must be assessed at high TRL (7).
The general objective of this project is to exploit the hybrid heating technologies by evaluating the effects of the steel products, on the refractories and also on the combustion systems. Three Demo cases testing innovative multifuel burner and testing the limit of current systems at TRL 7 will facilitate the hydrogen transition of the steel sector. Achieved results will bring to a CO2 saving in the range 7.5-25Mt/year. Regarding the steel quality, the project activities will individuate the optimum processing parameters to ensure that primary scale and associated scale defects do not persist through to the final product.
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
00128 Roma
Italy