An innovative and sustainable process for reducing the environmental impact of stainless steel production, enabling impressive recovery rates and cost savings.

Project Information

REGMAX

Grant agreement ID: 811514

DOI 10.3030/811514

Closed project

EC signature date 7 May 2018

Start date 1 June 2018

End date 31 May 2020

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost € 3 525 316,25

EU contribution € 2 467 721,38

Coordinated by

SUSTEC GMBH
Austria

Objective

Pickling is a metal surface treatment used in the stainless steel industry to remove impurities from steel and obtain optimal
services. Every hour, approximately 300,000 litres of acid are used in pickling, resulting in huge quantities of waste acid.
Alongside the damaging environmental impact, steel pickling works suffer from high operational costs to manage the
disposal or regeneration of said acid. SUSTEC has developed the REGMAX system, a new acid regeneration process to
provide a sustainable low-cost solution to this problem. The REGMAX system increases acid regeneration rate to over 97%
and reduces operational costs by up to 91%. Within the overall project, SUSTEC intends to scale-up regeneration capacity;
and commission a pilot plant for a large scale demonstration and validation of the technology in industrial conditions

Fields of science

• engineering and technology › environmental engineering › water treatment processes › wastewater treatment processes
• natural sciences › chemical sciences › inorganic chemistry › inorganic compounds
• natural sciences › chemical sciences › inorganic chemistry › transition metals
• natural sciences › chemical sciences › inorganic chemistry › alkaline earth metals
• natural sciences › earth and related environmental sciences › atmospheric sciences › climatology › climatic changes

Programme(s)

• H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs Main Programme
• H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
• H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies

Topic(s)

• EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020 - SME instrument

Call for proposal

H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-2

Funding Scheme

SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2

Coordinator

SUSTEC GMBH

• Net EU contribution: € 2 467 721,38
• Address: INKUSTRASSE 1/7 STIEGE 4/1 OG ; 3400 Klosterneuburg ; Austria
• SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes:
  Region
  Ostösterreich › Niederösterreich › Wiener Umland/Nordteil
• Region: Ostösterreich › Niederösterreich › Wiener Umland/Nordteil
• Activity type: Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
• Total cost: € 3 525 316,25