Can you shortly introduce yourself and your role in the HyInHeat project?

My name is Galyna Laptyeva. I am a Senior Scientist at Speira GmbH R&D with 15 years of experience within the aluminium industry. I hold a Masters degree in metallurgical engineering and a PhD in Natural Sciences, both from RWTH Aachen University. My role in HyInHeat is administration and reporting.

How did Speira get involved in the HyInHeat project?

We got involved in the project after the hydrogen workshop that was organized by the European Aluminium Innovation HUB. The innovation HUB played a crucial role in bringing the peers from the aluminium industry, academia and equipment manufacturers together at the initiation stage of the proposal.

How do you see the added value of HyInHeat for Speira?

The technical and economic feasibility of hydrogen applications is key for further implementation and industrialization of hydrogen technology. By the end of the project, we will build up a solid knowledge base as well as experience on retrofitting requirements to implement H2 combustion technology as well as on designing a safe H2/O2 infrastructure.

What is the role of Speira in the HyInHeat project?

In the HyInHeat project the Speira R&D team will implement hydrogen oxyfuel combustion technology on our 1.5 t labscale furnace. Hydrogen trials to investigate the burner performance, impact on the melt, impact on the refractories as well as NOx emissions will be conducted and evaluated. The results from these trials will serve as a basis for the HyInHeat pilot installations on industrial scale.

What do you hope to achieve by the end of the project?

We hope to build up the technical knowledge for the modification and re-design of aluminium furnaces for safe hydrogen use in industrial environment. Additionally, we hope to develop concepts for sustainable hydrogen business models based on H2/air, H2/O2 as well as NG/H2 blends scenarios.

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