Steel factories produce massive amounts of waste gas that mostly gets flared off or barely used. FReSMe figured out how to capture the CO2 and hydrogen from that gas and cook them together into methanol — a clean-burning liquid fuel you can pump into a ship engine. Think of it like brewing beer from leftovers: the steel plant's exhaust becomes fuel for cargo ships. They built a pilot plant that actually ran at an operational steel site, producing up to 50 kg of methanol per hour.
Steel plants emit enormous volumes of blast furnace gas containing CO2 and hydrogen that is largely wasted or underutilized. At the same time, the maritime industry faces mounting pressure to find green fuel alternatives to heavy fuel oil. These two industries need a bridge — a way to turn one sector's waste into another sector's clean fuel supply.
The project built and operated a pilot plant at TRL6 that converts blast furnace gas into methanol at 50 kg/hr. Key deliverables include a scale-up methanol catalyst and sorbent produced at tens-of-kilograms scale, plus the fully constructed pilot plant connected to battery limits at an industrial site.
If you are a steel mill operator dealing with rising carbon emission costs and blast furnace gas that is underutilized — this project developed a pilot-scale process that captures CO2 and H2 from your blast furnace gas and converts them into methanol at up to 50 kg/hr. Instead of paying carbon taxes on waste gas, you turn it into a sellable chemical commodity worth real revenue.
If you are a shipping company struggling with IMO decarbonization mandates and fuel cost volatility — this project demonstrated methanol produced from industrial waste gas as a viable marine fuel. Methanol can run in modified internal combustion engines, and the FReSMe consortium tested this pathway across 3 pilot runs with 13 partners from 7 countries. This gives you a proven supply route for green methanol that doesn't depend on fossil imports.
If you are a chemical company purchasing methanol as a platform chemical for resins, solvents, or formaldehyde production — this project proved a route to produce methanol from recycled CO2 rather than natural gas. The pilot processed 800 m3/hr of blast furnace gas, showing the process works at industrial scale. This means a new, potentially cheaper and greener supply chain for one of the most widely used industrial chemicals.
The project received EUR 11,406,725 in EU funding to develop and pilot the technology across 13 partners. Exact per-unit production costs are not published in the available data. However, the process reuses existing blast furnace gas and commercially available electrolysis equipment, which suggests the capital investment builds on infrastructure a steel mill already has.
The pilot operated at TRL6 with a nominal rate of 50 kg/hr methanol from 800 m3/hr blast furnace gas. TRL6 means all essential process steps were joined together and tested in an industrial environment. Scaling to commercial volumes would require engineering scale-up, but the pilot validated the integrated process chain at a meaningful throughput.
The consortium of 13 partners across 7 countries jointly developed the technology. IP rights are governed by the EU grant agreement and consortium agreements between partners. To explore licensing, you would need to contact the consortium coordinator, I-DEALS Innovation & Technology Venturing Services in Spain, who manages commercialization pathways.
The project directly addresses EU decarbonization targets by converting CO2 from blast furnace gas into useful fuel instead of releasing it. The methanol produced serves as a pathway to reduce both steel industry emissions and maritime transport carbon footprint. Specific regulatory certifications would depend on local implementation.
The pilot plant ran for a total of 3 months divided over 3 different runs. The project delivered a scale-up methanol catalyst tested at tens of kilograms scale, plus a fully constructed pilot plant connected to battery limits at an operational steel site. This represents substantial real-world validation.
Yes — the project was specifically designed for integration with existing steel industry infrastructure. It uses blast furnace gas that is already produced as a byproduct. The additional equipment needed includes an electrolyser for supplemental H2 production and a H2/N2 separation unit, both from commercially available sources.
The project closed in June 2021. Based on available project data, the consortium included 8 industry partners and 3 research organizations, suggesting a strong commercialization intent. The project website at fresme.eu may have information on successor initiatives or technology licensing contacts.
The FReSMe consortium is heavily industry-oriented with 8 out of 13 partners from industry (62%), backed by 2 universities and 3 research organizations across 7 European countries including Spain, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and Slovenia. This strong industry presence — including 3 SMEs — signals that the technology was developed with commercial deployment in mind, not just academic publication. The coordinator, I-DEALS Innovation & Technology Venturing Services in Spain, is itself a technology commercialization firm, which further indicates the consortium was structured to move results toward the market. The geographic spread across major steel-producing and shipping nations strengthens the potential for adoption across European industrial corridors.
I-DEALS Innovation & Technology Venturing Services SL (Spain) — a technology venturing firm that coordinated the project and can direct licensing or partnership inquiries.
Want an introduction to the FReSMe team to explore licensing or deployment at your site? SciTransfer can arrange a direct connection with the right consortium partner for your needs.
