Periodic Reporting for period 3 - INITIATE (Innovative industrial transformation of the steel and chemical industries of Europe)
Período documentado: 2023-11-01 hasta 2025-04-30
Steel and fertilizer markets will grow in the decades to come, while they need to transform to CO2 neutrality. These two sectors are responsible for 30% of all industrial carbon emission and >4% of annual global GDP.
The INITIATE industrial symbiosis approach directly contributes to reduce emission, energy and raw material use. It shows that carbon capture, re-use and storage are sustained by generating added value products such as NH3 and Urea. The project aims at a 30% decreased primary energy use, a 40% decreased raw material demand and up to 90% reduction in direct CO2 emissions. The project also contributes toward preserving jobs in both sectors, while making Europe more independent and robust in view of increasing feedstock prices and trade uncertainties. Additional benefits are the provision of grid balancing services through flexible use of green H2 and by proving CO2 for circular use, accelerating the transition towards locally closed loop and integrated renewable energy systems.
The INITIATE project takes all necessary steps to provide the basis for the roll-out of a 1st commercial size demonstrator at 50 kt/y urea on the basis of basic oxygen furnace gas (BOFG). The operational reliability of the technological innovations is demonstrated in a pilot plant at TRL-7. Additionally, the energy, economic and environmental advantages are assessed via the verification of the key-performance indicators of the concept and comparing them with a base case w/o CO2 removal and reference cases that use amine based CO2 removal technology. Next, a bankable design of the First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) commercial plant is made to convert BOFG to AdBlue® and/or another NH3 based product. The development of a long-term implementation plan ensures the successful implementation beyond the FOAK plant. The synergies on local and European scale are identified, considering industrial infrastructures and other symbiotic systems. As part of the implementation plan, stakeholder alignment is required and licensing strategies are developed to ensure successful future deployment
The INITIATE industrial symbiosis approach directly contributes to reduce emission, energy and raw material use. It shows that carbon capture, re-use and storage are sustained by generating added value products such as NH3 and Urea. The project aims at a 30% decreased primary energy use, a 40% decreased raw material demand and up to 90% reduction in direct CO2 emissions. The project also contributes toward preserving jobs in both sectors, while making Europe more independent and robust in view of increasing feedstock prices and trade uncertainties. Additional benefits are the provision of grid balancing services through flexible use of green H2 and by proving CO2 for circular use, accelerating the transition towards locally closed loop and integrated renewable energy systems.
The INITIATE project takes all necessary steps to provide the basis for the roll-out of a 1st commercial size demonstrator at 50 kt/y urea on the basis of basic oxygen furnace gas (BOFG). The operational reliability of the technological innovations is demonstrated in a pilot plant at TRL-7. Additionally, the energy, economic and environmental advantages are assessed via the verification of the key-performance indicators of the concept and comparing them with a base case w/o CO2 removal and reference cases that use amine based CO2 removal technology. Next, a bankable design of the First-Of-A-Kind (FOAK) commercial plant is made to convert BOFG to AdBlue® and/or another NH3 based product. The development of a long-term implementation plan ensures the successful implementation beyond the FOAK plant. The synergies on local and European scale are identified, considering industrial infrastructures and other symbiotic systems. As part of the implementation plan, stakeholder alignment is required and licensing strategies are developed to ensure successful future deployment
The project to prepare for the pre-design of a FOAK at the end of the project. This starts with the functional materials; their lab-scale validation and selection were completed, taking the BOFG dynamics and typical contaminant types and levels into account. Besides pilot demonstration, this allows transferability of the concept to other locations and other qualities of steel gasses. To replicate the INITIATE concept to other sites, a dynamic digital twin was developed, including a model to learn the BOFG dynamics and specific composition. The functional materials were produced using industrial scale facilities. Additionally, recycle options for spent materials are under development.
Two key technologies will be validated in the pilot plant at TRL-7, being the sorption enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS) process and the sub-stoichiometric NH3 conversion loop. The engineering, procurement and construction up to the SEWGS unit was completed, while the procurement and construction of the NH3 section is on-going. Challenges during the design and construction led to delays; the BOFG to NH3 concept is demonstrated in the next reporting period.
The techno-economic assessment compares i) the small scale INITIATE implementation using BOFG for NH3/Urea production at 224 tNH3/d, and ii) the large scale INITIATE implementation using BFG+BOFG at 1500 tNH3/d with their base and reference cases. The base and reference cases represent the individual industries without and with conventional CCS implemented, respectively.
INITIATE provides strong benefits in terms of primary energy savings when electricity with a CO2 footprint below 200 kgCO2/MWh is imported. SPECCA as low as -2.5 GJ/tCO2 means that both primary energy consumptions and CO2 emissions are reduced. The economic assessment shows that the symbiosis case using only BOFG is always more convenient than the reference case regardless the assumed cost of electricity and NG. Cost of CO2 avoided can be negative for NG prices above 100 €/MWh.
When considering BFG+BOFG as gases for the symbiosis, INITIATE is more convenient at electricity prices around 50 €/MWh with cost of CO2 avoided below 80 €/tCO2. The lower the electricity price the more convenient the concept.
The environmental assessment shows that INITIATE reduces the climate change impacts from 2.4 tCO2/tHRC (i.e. a plant producing 3.1 Mt/y HRC steel and 0.49 Mt/y urea) down to 1.06 tCO2/tHRC assuming the 2030 scenario, to be further reduced to 0.805 tCO2/tHRC in the 2050 scenario. Similarly, the INITIATE symbiosis reduces ecosystem damage and human health damage by 40% and by 20% respectively compared to conventional steel production.
As part of the long term implementation plan the key costs, benefits and uncertainties are analysed. The business case is positive as the benefits are potentially larger than the costs. The uncertainties in the costs and benefits are rather large. On the main uncertain key cost does not relate to the implementation of the SEWGS technology, but to the costs for CO2 transport and storage. The large uncertainties in the benefits relate to ETS pricing of the CO2 related to the BFG+BOFG use and the prevented NG consumption that is related to the conventional NH3+Urea. Moreover, the uncertainty of increased benefits due to CO2 pricing and prevented NG use in the future scenarios outweighs the uncertainty of transport and storage costs. It is therefore expected that when CO2 transport and storage develops in time, their costs decrease, while the ETS CO2 pricing and NG pricing increases, leading to an even higher net benefit. It is observed that all main uncertainties depend on the development of legislation, guidelines and norms. A very important factor is the CO2 price once the free allowances are reduced to 0 (towards 2034).
Two key technologies will be validated in the pilot plant at TRL-7, being the sorption enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS) process and the sub-stoichiometric NH3 conversion loop. The engineering, procurement and construction up to the SEWGS unit was completed, while the procurement and construction of the NH3 section is on-going. Challenges during the design and construction led to delays; the BOFG to NH3 concept is demonstrated in the next reporting period.
The techno-economic assessment compares i) the small scale INITIATE implementation using BOFG for NH3/Urea production at 224 tNH3/d, and ii) the large scale INITIATE implementation using BFG+BOFG at 1500 tNH3/d with their base and reference cases. The base and reference cases represent the individual industries without and with conventional CCS implemented, respectively.
INITIATE provides strong benefits in terms of primary energy savings when electricity with a CO2 footprint below 200 kgCO2/MWh is imported. SPECCA as low as -2.5 GJ/tCO2 means that both primary energy consumptions and CO2 emissions are reduced. The economic assessment shows that the symbiosis case using only BOFG is always more convenient than the reference case regardless the assumed cost of electricity and NG. Cost of CO2 avoided can be negative for NG prices above 100 €/MWh.
When considering BFG+BOFG as gases for the symbiosis, INITIATE is more convenient at electricity prices around 50 €/MWh with cost of CO2 avoided below 80 €/tCO2. The lower the electricity price the more convenient the concept.
The environmental assessment shows that INITIATE reduces the climate change impacts from 2.4 tCO2/tHRC (i.e. a plant producing 3.1 Mt/y HRC steel and 0.49 Mt/y urea) down to 1.06 tCO2/tHRC assuming the 2030 scenario, to be further reduced to 0.805 tCO2/tHRC in the 2050 scenario. Similarly, the INITIATE symbiosis reduces ecosystem damage and human health damage by 40% and by 20% respectively compared to conventional steel production.
As part of the long term implementation plan the key costs, benefits and uncertainties are analysed. The business case is positive as the benefits are potentially larger than the costs. The uncertainties in the costs and benefits are rather large. On the main uncertain key cost does not relate to the implementation of the SEWGS technology, but to the costs for CO2 transport and storage. The large uncertainties in the benefits relate to ETS pricing of the CO2 related to the BFG+BOFG use and the prevented NG consumption that is related to the conventional NH3+Urea. Moreover, the uncertainty of increased benefits due to CO2 pricing and prevented NG use in the future scenarios outweighs the uncertainty of transport and storage costs. It is therefore expected that when CO2 transport and storage develops in time, their costs decrease, while the ETS CO2 pricing and NG pricing increases, leading to an even higher net benefit. It is observed that all main uncertainties depend on the development of legislation, guidelines and norms. A very important factor is the CO2 price once the free allowances are reduced to 0 (towards 2034).
The concept eliminates a substantial amount of feedstock NG for NH3/Urea production by utilising the steel gasses, even when accounting NG import to compensate the steel productions energy requirements. It allows room for renewable energy penetration and the concept allows flexibility to the grid via dynamic H2 addition to the C-rich BFG by electrolyser systems, while the NH3 product can be dynamically stored. The captured CO2 is partially reused for Urea production, while the remaining CO2 is intended for other re-use cases or for sequestration.
The digital twin, together with the understanding of the type and levels of impurities in the steel gasses and their abatement options ensure the replication potential of the concept. Accordingly, the concept takes the future shift from the BF-BOF route towards the DRI/EAF-BOF route into account.
In the next period, the concept is demonstrated in 2 campaigns: i) BOFG conversion to H2/N2 in the 1st, ii) BOFG to NH3 in the 2nd. Economic assessments for the roll-out of the concept the FoaK plant will be performed. The exploitation progresses with strategic decision-making on geographic location, market entry strategies, product pathways, technology development, and ecosystem partnerships. The commercialization options are under evaluation, weighing risks, uncertainties, and long-term sustainability. The roadmap assessment continues to consolidate the strategic planning, stakeholder collaboration, and adaptive decision-making to navigate uncertainties and achieve long-term success.
The digital twin, together with the understanding of the type and levels of impurities in the steel gasses and their abatement options ensure the replication potential of the concept. Accordingly, the concept takes the future shift from the BF-BOF route towards the DRI/EAF-BOF route into account.
In the next period, the concept is demonstrated in 2 campaigns: i) BOFG conversion to H2/N2 in the 1st, ii) BOFG to NH3 in the 2nd. Economic assessments for the roll-out of the concept the FoaK plant will be performed. The exploitation progresses with strategic decision-making on geographic location, market entry strategies, product pathways, technology development, and ecosystem partnerships. The commercialization options are under evaluation, weighing risks, uncertainties, and long-term sustainability. The roadmap assessment continues to consolidate the strategic planning, stakeholder collaboration, and adaptive decision-making to navigate uncertainties and achieve long-term success.