Environment–Climate–Energy: Quo Vadis, Industry?

Steel is a crucial material for energy transition and low-carbon economy. Since it will never be possible to produce steel without energy, we must change from coal (coke) to other carbon-free energy sources in order to reduce or prevent CO₂ emissions in the long term. voestalpine is working consistently on the further development of the processes towards the stepwise de-carbonization of steel production. Specifically, the company plans to make a gradual shift from the use of coal via bridging technologies to the potential use of hydrogen in the steel production over the next 20 years. The current European flagship project H2FUTURE brings together energy suppliers, the steel industry, technology providers, and research partners. The facility at the Linz site of voestalpine will produce ‘green’ hydrogen by electrolyzing water via PEM (proton exchange membrane) technology. Based on the results of the project, voestalpine is planning to take its R&D activities further to examining hydrogen plasma in steel production.