Salzgitter AG has launched the accompanying research project “BeWiSer” in a consortium with the Fraunhofer Institutes IKTS, ISI and UMSICHT. This is intended to further optimize the steel producer’s planned SALCOS® route. The project will look at the entire process chain in terms of resource and energy efficiency.
The kick-off for the BMBF project “BeWiSer” took place in Salzgitter on September 26. The project will provide scientific support for the structural transformation of steel production already initiated by Salzgitter AG. For example, the project is investigating how biogenic materials can be used as a substitute for fossil coal and natural gas in order to adjust the required carbon content in steel. The efficient use of water is also a focal point of the project, as large quantities of water are needed in the production of green steel, for example for electrolysis. For this reason, the water formed during iron ore reduction is to be treated as far as possible for reuse.
For the in-process recycling of the iron-bearing dusts produced during processing, the plant manufacturer TS ELINO is a new member of the project consortium. This could further increase the resource efficiency of green steel production. A demonstration plant has been set up at Salzgitter AG for the application-oriented investigation of direct reduction. Among other things, numerical models of the direct reduction process could be validated and further developed here.
Dr. Alexander Redenius, Head of Resource Efficiency and Technology Development at Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung, adds: “Converting crude steel production to the direct reduction process while the steel mill is in operation represents a major challenge. Close cooperation with the research institutes will create important foundations for optimized plant operation of the associated process steps in order to successfully carry out the transformation process of steel production in Salzgitter.”
Consortium declares possibility of CO₂-free steel production
The production of crude steel via the blast furnace route accounts for a large proportion of industrial CO₂ emissions in Germany, at around 28%. Salzgitter AG has been working with the above-mentioned consortia for 6 years to realize low CO₂ production using green hydrogen. The BMBF research projects “MACOR” and “BeWiSe” have already demonstrated that CO₂ emissions can be reduced by at least 95%. Supplemented by further measures, CO2-free steel production would thus be possible.
As part of the SALCOS® project, Salzgitter AG plans to switch steel production via blast furnaces completely to the direct reduction route by 2033. Construction work for the gradual transformation has already begun, and one third of steel production capacity is to be converted to the low CO₂ process as early as 2026. Salzgitter AG is already supplying green steel to customers such as Wagon Automotive.
Dr. Matthias Jahn, head of the Energy and Process Engineering department at Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden, explains: “As part of the joint research work, it was possible to build up unique competencies in the consortium and achieve important scientific results. These make an important contribution to reducing industrial CO2 emissions.”
