D6.3 – Report on results of the steel use case implementations
This report presents the results of the steel use case implementations carried out within Work Package 6 (WP6) of the HyInHeat project. It assesses the demonstration, evaluation and validation of hydrogen-based heating technologies across representative steel production processes, addressing both the retrofit of existing industrial equipment and the development of hydrogen-ready solutions for future installations. The work combines industrial-scale demonstrations, pilot testing, numerical modelling, materials characterisation and engineering studies to evaluate technical feasibility, operational performance, energy efficiency, product quality, refractory behaviour, safety and environmental aspects.
The report covers several applications across the steel production value chain, including tunnel and walking beam furnaces, ladle preheating, hydrogen-ready reheating furnaces, and continuous annealing and galvanising lines. Different combustion concepts are investigated, including hydrogen-air, hydrogen-oxygen, oxygen-enhanced combustion and hybrid fuel strategies. The activities include industrial trials at ArcelorMittal facilities, pilot-scale walking beam furnace experiments, hydrogen-based ladle preheating demonstrations, CFD simulations, metallurgical and refractory investigations, as well as greenfield and retrofit design studies. Together, these activities assess the effects of hydrogen on heating performance, energy consumption, emissions, steel oxidation and descaling, material quality and operational stability, while providing engineering and safety knowledge for future industrial deployment.
WP6 is led by 7 Steel Nordic Manufacturing, with contributions from RHI Magnesita, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), RWTH-GHI, RWTH-IOB, ArcelorMittal, Sarralle, Swerim, Tecnalia and CEIT.
Authors
Joachim Hjartøy, Marc Los | 7 Steel Nordic Manufacturing
Eduardo J. Pérez, Jon Lumbreras, Daniel Mira | Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Bernd Lorenzoni | RHI Magnesita
Felix Bleck | RWTH-GHI
Nico Schmitz, Johannes Losacker, Alex Garcia | RWTH-IOB
Diego Cifrian Riesgo, Victor Cuervo Piñera, Emilio Muñoz Vega, Iker Basterretxea Maruri, Álvaro Plaza Reino | ArcelorMittal
Itsaso Auzmendi Murua | Sarralle
Andreas Johnsson | Swerim
Borja Peña Quintero, Eider Del Molino Duran, Aitziber Adrados Lopez de Viñaspre, Juan Palacios Taubmann | Tecnalia
Amaia Iza-Mendia, Yáiza Montaña, Xabier Zapirain | CEIT