BFI VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH

Initial situation:

• The European steel industry faces the challenge of reducing its CO₂ emissions by 55% by 2030 and becoming climate neutral by 2050 without losing its competitiveness.
• All major European steel producers have published transformation roadmaps to meet the targets of the EU climate plan.
• The transition from the traditional blast furnace-converter route to more climate-friendly production processes requires gradual action and long-term planning.
• The growing importance of hydrogen as a future reducing agent places new demands on availability, infrastructure and economic efficiency.
• A major obstacle to decarbonisation could be the insufficient supply of low-cost, green hydrogen.
• In parallel with the transformation, steelworks must secure their economic performance while achieving CO₂ targets.

Project targets:

• Development and demonstration of an innovative chemical looping process (CLH) for efficient, emission-free and cost-effective hydrogen production from metallurgical gas streams in the steel industry.
• Utilisation and upgrading of existing process gases (e.g. blast furnace gas, converter gas) for the production of high-purity hydrogen (>99%) and valuable by-products such as CO₂/N₂-rich gases and usable process heat.
• Demonstration of the CLH process on an industrial scale with 24/7 operation, real-time control and AI-supported soft sensors for optimising efficiency and process monitoring.
• Modular oxygen carrier materials with high reactivity and long-term stability (> 10 years) for large-scale industrial use.
• Integrated concept of current and future steel mill structures (BF-BOF, DR-EAF) with fully integrated CLH process.
• Energy and economic analyses, including life cycle assessment (LCA), to evaluate resource efficiency and environmental benefits.
• Scale-up concept and business plan for the industrial implementation of the CLH process in the European steel industry.

Innovative approaches:

• Use of the chemical looping process (CLH) for highly efficient, emission-free hydrogen production from metallurgical process gases (e.g. from blast furnaces).
• Three-stage reaction process for reduction, hydrogen production and heat recovery, based on iron oxide as an oxygen carrier with high reactivity and stability.
• Integration of the CLH process into existing and future steelworks routes (BF-BOF, DR-EAF) to provide hydrogen, heat and CO₂-/N₂ streams for CCU/S applications.
• Prevention of carbon deposits through optimised temperature control and optional steam injection.

Benefits for the industry:

• Significant reduction in carbon footprint through the use and upgrading of metallurgical process gases to high-purity hydrogen, heat and CO₂/N₂ streams for CCU/S applications.
• Increased energy efficiency through chemical looping with an internal heat recovery system, significantly reducing external energy requirements.
• Increased resource efficiency through complete utilisation of the energy and material streams contained and avoidance of emissions from gas combustion.
• Flexible integration into existing and future production routes (BF-BOF, DR-EA) for the gradual decarbonisation of steel production.
• Creating new value-added potential by utilising by-products (e.g. CO₂ for chemical synthesis, waste heat for power generation) for maximum energy and resource efficiency.
• Ensuring a location-independent, resilient and economical hydrogen supply, thereby reducing dependence on external energy sources.
• Strengthening the competitiveness through emission-free, cost-efficient and digitally monitored on-site hydrogen production.

Further information:

Website: https://h2loop.eu/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/h2loop-project/

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.