Project description
Hydrogen-based processes for a green metal industry
Renewable forms of energy require significant amounts of aluminium, steel and copper. The metallurgical sector has therefore emerged as an important contributor to a sustainable future, although it is responsible for considerable CO2 emissions. As a reductant, hydrogen can become a substitute for carbon, driving the change towards a greener industry. The EU-funded HARARE project will demonstrate sustainable ways to produce metals using hydrogen as an enabler. The project proposes a circular concept based on a twofold reasoning: first, recovering waste with hydrogen, namely from the copper and aluminium production processes; second, applying hydrogen-based processes that will allow an environmentally friendly and less dependent on imports European metal industry.
Objective
HARARE will demonstrate sustainable pathways to produce metals using hydrogen as an enabler, for removing waste and valorising materials in carbon free processes. The consortium’s concern and thus the drive to build this initiative, starts with an industry that is key contributor to a sustainable future: the metallurgical sector. The switch to renewable energies requires vast amounts of metals, such as steel and aluminium for solar panels and wind turbines, and copper for bolstering the electricity grid necessary for transport and industry. However, the metallurgical industry amounted to 70 million tons direct CO2 emitted in 2017. Moreover, carbon-based processes make the European metallurgical industry dependent on imports.
Using hydrogen as a reductant to substitute carbon is one of the few ways metallurgical industry can potentially become truly free of CO2-emissions, utilizing raw materials that can be produced in Europe. HARARE’s vision is to tackle these challenges and become part of the solution, making the metallurgical industry more sustainable by presenting a circular concept that is based on a two-fold reasoning:
1) Recover wastes with hydrogen. choosing two representative wastes from the copper and aluminium production processes, namely: flash smelter slag from primary copper production and Bauxite residue (BR) from aluminium production.
2) Hydrogen-based processes will allow for an environmentally friendly metal industry while decreasing dependence from hard coal imports and being cost competitive.
HARARE will thus eliminate waste from the metallurgical industry while recovering valuable materials, and increasing the use of hydrogen in the industry, thereby increasing its circularity, the utilization of raw materials and the profitability, lessening the negative side-effects on the community, and making steps toward the less carbon-dependent metallurgical industry necessary for a sustainable future.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-LOW-CARBON-CIRCULAR-INDUSTRIES-2020
See other projects for this callSub call
H2020-LCCI-2020-EASME-twostage
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
7034 Trondheim
Norway