D6.3 Report on results of the steel use case implementation
This report presents the main results of the hydrogen-based heating technologies demonstrated and evaluated within Work Package 6 (WP6) of the HyInHeat project, focusing on their application in steel production processes. It assesses the technical feasibility of replacing conventional fossil fuels with hydrogen in industrial heating systems, examining the impact on energy efficiency, process performance, steel quality, environmental emissions and operational safety. The report brings together findings from industrial-scale demonstrations, pilot-scale experiments, numerical simulations, material characterisation and engineering studies, providing valuable insights into the potential of hydrogen technologies to support the decarbonisation of the European steel industry.
The analysis covers several applications across the steel production value chain, including the retrofitting of tunnel furnaces and walking beam furnaces, hydrogen-based ladle preheating, and the development of hydrogen-ready furnace designs. It also examines retrofit solutions for continuous annealing and galvanising lines, as well as the behaviour of steel oxidation and refractory materials under hydrogen combustion atmospheres. The results demonstrate the technical potential of hydrogen-air, hydrogen-oxygen and oxygen-enhanced combustion technologies. In particular, pilot-scale trials showed that hydrogen-based oxygen-enhanced and oxyfuel combustion could reduce specific energy consumption by approximately 30% compared with conventional fuel-air combustion. The report also identifies important considerations related to NOx emissions, oxide scale formation, descaling performance, refractory durability, burner optimisation and hydrogen supply infrastructure. Overall, the findings provide a foundation for the future scale-up and industrial deployment of hydrogen-based heating solutions in steelmaking.
WP6 is led by 7 Steel Nordic Manufacturing, with contributions from HyInHeat consortium partners including ArcelorMittal, SARRALLE, Swerim, TECNALIA, CEIT, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), RWTH Aachen University, RHI Magnesita and Danieli Centro Combustion.
Authors
Joachim Hjartøy | 7 Steel Nordic Manufacturing
Marc Los | 7 Steel Nordic Manufacturing
Eduardo J. Pérez | BSC
Jon Lumbreras | BSC
Daniel Mira | BSC
Bernd Lorenzoni | RHI Magnesita
Felix Bleck | RWTH-GHI
Nico Schmitz | RWTH IOB
Johannes Losacker | RWTH IOB
Alex Garcia | RWTH IOB
Diego Cifrian Riesgo | ArcelorMittal
Victor Cuervo Piñera | ArcelorMittal
Emilio Muñoz Vega | ArcelorMittal
Iker Basterretxea Maruri | ArcelorMittal
Álvaro Plaza Reino | ArcelorMittal
Itsaso Auzmendi Murua | SARRALLE
Andreas Johnsson | Swerim
Borja Peña Quintero | TECNALIA
Eider Del Molino Duran | TECNALIA
Aitziber Adrados Lopez de Viñaspre | TECNALIA
Juan Palacios Taubmann | TECNALIA
Amaia Iza-Mendia | CEIT
Yáiza Montaña | CEIT
Xabier Zapirain | CEIT
Giovanni Curedda | Danieli Centro Combustion
Marco Daneri | Danieli Centro Combustion