HYDREAMS - Clean hydrogen combustion and digital tools for reheating and heat treatment for steel

Starting situation:

  • The latest IEA roadmap states that global CO2 emissions from the iron and steel industry will fall from 2.4 Gt in 2020 to 0.2 Gt in 2050, despite a doubling of production.
  • In addition to blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces, reheating, annealing, forging, etc. of steel are the main contributors to emissions.
  • Hydrogen (H2) produced with renewable energies could be a solution to replace natural gas if its cost could be reduced, if plant safety and product quality remain constant, and if an infrastructure for production, distribution and storage is developed.

Project aims:

  • Demonstration of safe H2- based combustion for the production of steels in different types of furnaces with different types of burners.
  • Demonstration, that steels can be produced with the required properties despite different atmospheres and temperatures of H2 combustion
  • Demonstration of solutions to enable H2 combustion at a lower cost than natural gas combustion by 2032
  • Provision of models to predict stable operating conditions and guidelines to limit NOx and other pollutant emissions
  • Determine viable "pathways to clean hydrogen" needed by steel companies. 

Innovative approach:

  • Testing of 100 % H2/O2, H2/OEC and HEC/OEC in reheating and annealing furnaces.
  • Development of new burner types for efficient combustion of H2-enriched fuel gas mixtures.
  • Evaluation of the reduction of CO2 and NOx emissions, the impact on the quality of steel grades and on the refractory material, and the required process changes in trials in pilot furnaces with up to TRL 7
  • Multiscale modeling approach to evaluate the potential impact of the new combustion systems: experimental combustion tests, advanced combustion modeling, and predictive control approaches
  • Creation of predictive model to optimize costs, NOx emissions, and steel quality
  • Modification/adaptation of plants for the use of innovative combustion gases taking into account.

Possible benefits for the industry:

  • Reduction of direct emissions by 212kt CO2/year by 2032 at the three participating steelmakers
  • Easy transfer of the developed solutions to other companies in the steel industry or to other industrial sectors through comprehensive modeling
  • Burner concepts for flexible, safe and efficient combustion of H2 and H2/fuel gas mixtures
  • Safety concepts as well as cost and demand analysis through forecast models

Funded by: Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS).

Link:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-details/43252449/101098480/RFCS2027

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