Making steel usually creates a lot of pollution, but using hydrogen instead of carbon can clean it up. The problem is that switching to high-hydrogen levels is like changing the engine of a car while it's running; we don't fully know how the heat and materials behave at a large scale. This project creates a digital 'flight simulator' and a physical test rig to predict exactly how to run these giant furnaces without them clogging or failing.
Steel producers lack the industrial data and reliable prediction tools to move from 60% to over 80% hydrogen enrichment in shaft furnaces. This creates a maturity gap that prevents the rapid scale-up of carbon-free steel production.
A world-first test rig for pellet properties, a physical demonstrator for solid/gas flow, and a suite of digital toolkits including DEM-CFD models and a Single Pellet Kinetic Model (SPKM).
If you are an integrated steelworks dealing with high carbon emissions and the need to transition to green hydrogen — this project developed digital toolkits that enable reliable prognoses for furnace operation with >80% H2 enrichment. This allows you to scale up production while avoiding costly trial-and-error failures.
If you are a furnace manufacturer dealing with a lack of industrial data for H2-enriched DR — this project developed a hybrid demonstrator combining DEM-CFD models and a physical test rig. You can use this to optimize furnace design and operating points for your clients.
If you are a consultant dealing with the complexity of planning carbon-free steel pathways — this project developed toolkits covering the impacts of product properties on downstream processes. This provides a sound basis to design sustainable and flexible process chains for your clients.
Based on available project data, specific pricing or implementation costs are not provided.
Yes, the project specifically aims to fill the gap between lab-scale and industrial-scale operation, raising the maturity of toolkits from TRL5 to TRL8 to support industrial roll-out.
Based on available project data, there is no specific information regarding IP or licensing terms.
The project provides digital toolkits and simulation tools that cover the impacts on gas and energy cycles, allowing for a flexible, stepwise integration of H2-enriched DR into existing process chains.
The project runs from 2022-06-01 to 2026-11-30, focusing on moving tools toward TRL8 by the end of the period.
The consortium is composed of 10 partners across 7 European countries, showing a strong cross-border collaboration. With a 20% industry ratio (2 industrial partners) and a heavy academic/research presence (5 universities, 3 research centers), the project is currently weighted toward knowledge generation and tool development rather than immediate commercial deployment.
Contact Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento S Anna in Italy
Contact us to access the digital toolkits for H2-enriched DR simulation.
