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Sustainable Steelmaking — A Strategic Evaluation of the Future Potential of Hydrogen in the Steel Industry
... The steel, cement, and chemical industries are among the largest contributors to GHG emissions within the industrial sector, collectively responsible for approximately 55% of the industrial sectorʹs emissions in Germany and 10% of the nationʹs total GHG emissions [4,5]. These industries are characterized by energy-intensive processes that are challenging to decarbonize due to their reliance on high heat and the resultant process emissions [5][6][7]. The decarbonization of these sectors is thus both a significant challenge and an essential component of achieving overall climate neutrality [8,9]. ...
... Among the various ways proposed to achieve decarbonization, the utilization of green hydrogen presents a promising avenue [7,20]. Green hydrogen, produced through the electrolysis of water using electricity generated from renewable energy sources, offers a pathway to significantly reduce GHG emissions, particularly in energy-intensive industrial processes. ...
In the decarbonization of the steel, cement, and chemical industry in Germany, green hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role. The utilization of green hydrogen in the production processes of said industries requires organizations to modify their business model, requiring sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). Numerous tools and frameworks that support organizations in the process of SBMI have been proposed in the literature in recent years. However, the applicability of these tools and frameworks for steel, cement, and chemical companies that intend to utilize green hydrogen to produce their goods remains unexplored. By conducting a systematic literature review on tools and frameworks for SBMI, a literature and practice review to identify and analyze existing green hydrogen projects of steel, cement, and chemical companies, and an evaluation of the identified tools and frameworks in an evaluation matrix, this paper aims to assess the suitability of SBMI tools and frameworks for steel, cement, and chemical companies that plan to use green hydrogen to produce their goods. Based on the evaluation, the Cambridge Business Model Innovation Process (CBMIP) was identified as the most suitable SBMI framework.
... The steel, cement, and chemical industries are among the largest contributors to GHG emissions within the industrial sector, collectively responsible for approximately 55% of the industrial sector's emissions in Germany and 10% of the nation's total GHG emissions [4,5]. These industries are characterized by energy-intensive processes that are challenging to decarbonize due to their reliance on high heat and the resultant process emissions [5][6][7]. The decarbonization of these sectors is thus both a significant challenge and an essential component of achieving overall climate neutrality [8,9]. ...
In the decarbonization of the steel, cement, and chemical industries in Germany, green hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role. The utilization of green hydrogen in the production processes of said industries requires organizations to modify their business model, requiring sustainable business model innovation (SBMI). Numerous tools and frameworks that support organizations in the process of SBMI have been proposed in the literature in recent years. However, the applicability of these tools and frameworks for steel, cement, and chemical companies that intend to utilize green hydrogen to produce their goods remains unexplored. This paper aims to assess the suitability of SBMI tools and frameworks for steel, cement, and chemical companies planning to use green hydrogen in their production. It conducts a systematic literature review on SBMI tools and frameworks, reviews current green hydrogen projects in these industries, and evaluates the identified tools and frameworks using an evaluation matrix. Based on the evaluation, the Cambridge Business Model Innovation Process (CBMIP) was identified as the most suitable SBMI framework.
... Not all steel grades can be produced [10] Need for reducing gas (e.g., green hydrogen) [31] High operative costs (capture and compression) [21] Need for large areas of arable land nearby [26] Need for high quality input materials (improvement in sorting of scrap) [16] Need for high quality iron ore (pellets) [13] Environmental risk (leakage during transport and storage) [32] Impact on local woody feedstock prices [28] Need for low CO2 emission electricity [9] Need for low CO2 emission electricity [9] Emission of other pollutants (e.g., NH3) [9] Risk of downcycling high valuable materials [33] Need for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure [34] Need for CO2 transport and storage infrastructure [32] Lack of a convincing business model [21] Concerning the technologies that employ scraps, some aspects have already been discussed about the need for more electrical energy (in mediumlong term renewable energy) and the variable grade of steel produced in the EAF, depending on scrap quality. In addition, another matter in which it is easy to incur with this production method is the downcycling: when valuable alloying elements end up in steel products where they are unessential, they cause economic and environmental harm (Compañero et al., 2021). ...
The steel sector, being one of the most environmentally polluting, will have to radically renew itself in the next years in order to meet the European climate and energy targets defined within the Paris Agreement. The traditional production method, based on the blast furnace, is the most widespread in the world but also the most polluting. In recent years, new unconventional technologies that make it possible to produce steel with limited or no Greenhouse Gas emissions have been developed. However, the application of these alternative sustainable technologies is hampered by technical, economical, organisational and regulatory barriers. Nowadays, there is no clear defined business path for steelmakers to limit their environmental impact, especially because the transition from the traditional technologies to green ones involves large investments. Moreover, companies struggle in identifying most promising technologies from a systemic economic, social, and geographical perspective, as certain solutions seem suitable for some but not for others, given the different availability of energy resources, raw materials, and financing. For these reasons, steel producers are in a situation of great uncertainty, not even receiving specific direction from policymakers, who could provide helpful guidance with a better organised framework of incentives and constraints. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the most recent available technologies for the sustainable production of steel, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of each, based on a critical review of the extant literature. This research aims at supporting companies from a managerial and strategic point of view in understanding the conditions under which it is more economically, geographically, and socially advantageous to adopt these technologies for producing green steel, outlining at the same time the most common barriers.
Direct reduced iron is considered the primary actor in the transition to a sustainable steelmaking route. In this chapter, all the developed direct reduced iron routes are described. The basic fundamentals, related to gas direct reduction, are analyzed. In order to produce carbon-free steel, hydrogen is fundamental. The iron ores reduction through hydrogen and the various available technology solutions are described. The fundamental kinetics and thermodynamic limits solutions of the various technological solutions are underlined. These issues related to different reducing gases compositions are analyzed. The advantages related to the employment of direct reduced iron in the blast furnace are evaluated. The problematics related to the direct reduced iron handling and usage are described. Electricity and energy issues are largely described. The new route of green hydrogen produced to reduce iron oxides finds large attention in the chapter. The energetic issues related to hydrogen produced via hot or cold water electrolysis are analyzed. The technological issues related to the employment of direct reduced iron in the electric arc furnaces are described. Also, the innovative DRI-open bath slag furnaces are presented.
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There are principally four routes for steelmaking. Three are based on iron ore reduction via blast furnace, smelting reduction and direct reduction; one is based on melting steel scrap via the electric arc furnace. Blast furnaces and smelting reduction plants produce liquid hot metal and separate the main amount of the charge materials gangue components via a slag. Direct reduction plants reduce iron ores in the solid state to sponge iron (DRI, HBI) whilst the gangue components remain in the product. The report describes the process developments and current status of iron ore reduction routes as well as some future ideas.
Bei allen modernen Verfahren zur Roheisen- und Eisenschwammerzeugung wird Wasserstoff in verschieden hohen Anteilen im Gemisch mit Kohlenmonoxid als gasförmiges Reduktionsmittel eingesetzt. Für die Erzeugung von Eisenschwamm wurden Direktreduktionsanlagen im industriellen Maßstab mit reinem Wasserstoff betrieben. Aufgrund der physikalisch-chemischen Eigenschaften hat Wasserstoff im Plasmazustand ein sehr hohes chemisches Reduktionspotential im Vergleich zu Kohlenstoff. Das eröffnet die Möglichkeit eines innovativen – disruptiven – Verfahrenskonzeptes, der direkten Erzeugung von Rohstahl aus Erz mit Wasserstoffplasma in einem Verfahrensschritt ohne direkte Treibhausgasemissionen. Mit den bisher durchgeführten Grundlagenuntersuchungen an der Montanuniversität Leoben, die von Prof. Herbert Hiebler gestartet und vorangetrieben wurden, wurden Basisdaten für so ein Verfahren ermittelt. Für eine industrielle Umsetzung des Verfahrenskonzeptes sind aber noch weitergehende Forschungs- und Entwicklungstätigkeiten durchzuführen, um Lösungsvorschläge für eine Produktionsanlage in Up-scaling-Schritten zu testen.
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