EU backs testing of innovative iron production tech
The EU has agreed to contribute €7.4m towards testing a groundbreaking new iron production process being developed at Tata Steel’s IJmuiden steelworks in the Netherlands.
The six-month test campaign of the HIsarna pilot plant in 2016 will establish whether the new technology can produce molten iron in a stable way over a sustained period of time. The EU’s support is drawn from Horizon 2020 and represents nearly one-third of the €25m test costs next year.
Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said: “We welcome the EU’s support for this promising and potentially groundbreaking project. The development of this technology still has a long way to go, so support from the EU is vital.”
If the technology is viable and can be scaled up successfully, it should enable further resource efficiency improvements in steelmaking. Steel companies would be able to use a wider range of raw materials, including recycling materials, and the technology would lead to 20% lower CO2 emissions. If successful, the HIsarna technology could deliver greater environmental and economic sustainability ten to 15 years from now.
The main advantage of HIsarna technology is that it eliminates two energy-intensive preparatory stages in ironmaking: there is no need to cluster fine iron ore into sinter or pellet, or to convert coal into coke, as there is in conventional blast furnace ironmaking.
Adding further thoughts, Koehler said: “The steel industry is an integral part of the circular economy, striving for zero waste, 100% recycling and the reuse of materials. HIsarna could play a future role in the creation of a more sustainable, low carbon European economy.
“Tata Steel and its partners have continued to invest in this potentially breakthrough technology despite some very challenging economic conditions in Europe. But future phases of HIsarna’s development will require very substantial investment that will exceed what the project partners can provide themselves, and indeed what current public innovation frameworks are likely to be able to fund.
“We need the EU’s continued, long term support for the HIsarna project. If next year’s tests are successful, the following stage would be developing, constructing and testing an industrial-scale plant at a cost of €300m.”
Tata Steel is Europe’s second largest steel producer, with steelmaking in the UK and the Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe.
