The H2AL consortium aims to address the challenges of adopting hydrogen (H2) in hard-to-abate industries (HTAIs) through a hybrid approach using digital tools and state-of-the-art experimental techniques. The consortium will develop an integrated H2 burner and support system for a heating furnace in an HTAI, specifically the aluminium scrap recycling industry. The project will investigate the impact of H2 combustion on the furnace structure and product quality while minimizing emissions. H2AL will apply Oxyfuel combustion of H2 as combustion technology, which will be combined with low-NOx combustion techniques, most likely the flameless/MILD combustion mode. This approach will allow us to benefit from the main advantages from oxyfuel combustion while minimizing its emissions (particularly NOx). The impact of H2 combustion on the refractory materials, overall furnace structure and product quality (aluminium) will also be investigated and measures to minimize its impacts will be implemented. To ensure widespread replication and exploitation of the technology, the consortium will perform techno-economic modeling, develop guidelines for technology integration, analyze geographic information, and develop new business models. The consortium comprises 10 partners from four countries, including 4 research organizations, 5 industrial partners, and an industry association, and includes an end-user association representing the aluminium sector in Europe. The H2AL project seeks to achieve TRL7 by running a full-scale demonstration for more than six months, with at least one trial of 100h at 100% H2 and with a thermal output of at more than 2 MWth.

The main objective of HIPERMAT is the empowering of future low carbon technologies with new materials and components by their enhanced environmental impact reduction across the value chain. At least two new bulk refractory stainless steels, a high entropy alloy and a ceramic coating will be developed through advanced modelling, hidrosolification, LMD and ceramic coatings in new beam and ring prototypes with embedded sensors in a hot stamping furnace. This objective will be achieved by setting a strong basis gathering all manufacturing conditions across the value chain: from the manufacturing of main components (beams and rings) by sand casting and centrifugal casting, the engineering in the furnace construction and the final use of the equipment in hot stamping companies.These data will be used to develop the strategies for materials selection, embedded sensors development, environmental continuous assessment, advanced modelling, data capture and main tests to be performed for material and component validation. After this, materials will be tested for high temperature performance properties such as thermal fatigue, creep, crack growth rate and wear/corrosion. In parallel, new manufacturing technologies such as hidrosolidification, LMD and ceramic coatings will be developed and tested in component like geometries towards an easier and faster approach to final solutions. All these activities will be supported by advanced modelling architecture based on a combination of thermodynamic, thermokinetics, fluids dynamics, heat interchange and metal solidification physics together with model predictive control tools based on in artificial intelligence. The combined effect of material and technologies will be finally tested in component like geometries and, once validated, transferred to prototype components represented by beams and rings that will be integrated in a real furnace together with embedded sensors for continuous monitoring and comparison with standard components.

In the European process industries large amounts of energy and resources are used to produce millions of tonnes of materials each year. Especially in metal making processes, metallic scraps from end of life goods are recycled and used as secondary raw materials in the processes. Usage of scrap is both ecologically and commercially beneficial, since it reduces the depletion of natural resources like virgin ores and avoids landfills with waste material. Today even more important is that the energy consumption and the CO2 emissions of the reduction processes of metal ores can be reduced or even totally avoided when using recycled materials as feedstock. However, the metal production facilities are facing an increasing variability in material and energy feedstock. To cope with this challenge, existing metal production plants need to be retrofitted with appropriate sensors for scrap analysis and furnace operation, to cope with the varying conditions of the feedstock regarding materials and energy. Furthermore, the selection of the optimal feedstock in terms of material and energy efficiency has to be improved by application of appropriate process control and decision support tools. Also solid scrap preheating systems can increase the energy efficiency of the melting processes. To monitor and control the process behaviour in an optimal way, model-based software tools have to be developed and applied. The main objective of the REVaMP project is to develop, adapt and apply novel retrofitting technologies to cope with the increasing variability and to ensure an efficient use of the feedstock in terms of materials and energy. This will be exemplarily demonstrated within three different use cases from the metal making industry. Due to the industrial relevance, the use cases were chosen from electric and oxygen steelmaking, aluminium refining and lead recycling. The performance of the different technologies will be assessed, and the benefits will be quantified.

The main objective of HyInHeat is the integration of hydrogen as fuel for high temperature heating processes in the energy intensive industries. While some of the equipment is already presented as hydrogen-ready, the integration of hydrogen combustion in heating processes still needs adoption and redesign of infrastructure, equipment and the process itself. HyInHeat realizes the implementation of efficient hydrogen combustion systems to decarbonize heating and melting processes of the aluminium and steel sectors, covering almost their complete process chains. To reach this overarching objective within the project, furnace and equipment like burners or measurement and control technology but also infrastructure is redesigned, modified and implemented in eight demonstrators at technical centres and industrial plants. Besides hydrogen-air heating, oxygen-enriched combustion and hydrogen-oxyfuel heating is implemented to boost energy efficiency and to decrease the future hydrogen fuel demand of the processes. This might result in a total redesign of the heating process itself which will be supported by simulation methods enhancing digitalisation along the value chain. Since critical production processes are converted, it is a fundamental requirement to maintain product quality and yield. Priority is also given to the refractory lining to prove sustainability. From an environmental perspective, new concepts for NOx emission measurement in hydrogen combustion off-gas are developed. Material flow analysis and life cycle analysis methods will support the comprehensive cross-sectorial evaluation, which allows the determination of the potential for the implementation of hydrogen heating processes in energy intensive industry. With these activities, HyInHeat contributes to the objectives of decreasing CO2 emission of the processes while increasing energy efficiency in a cost competitive way keeping NOx emission levels and resource efficiency at least at the same level.

QU4LITY will demonstrate, in a realistic, measurable, and replicable way an open, certifiable and highly standardised, SME-friendly and transformative shared data-driven ZDM product and service model for Factory 4.0 through 5 strategic ZDM plug & control lighthouse equipment pilots and 9 production lighthouse facility pilots. QU4LITY will also demonstrate how European industry can build unique and highly tailored ZDM strategies and competitive advantages (significantly increase operational efficiency, scrap reduction, prescriptive quality management, energy efficiency, defect propagation avoidance and improved smart product customer experience, and foster new digital business models; e.g. outcome-based and product servitisation) through an orchestrated open platforms ecosystem, ZDM atomized components and digital enablers (Industry 4.0 digital connectivity & edge computing package, plug & control autonomous manufacturing equipment, real-time data spaces for process monitoring & adaptation, simulation data spaces for digital process twin continuity, AI-powered analytic data spaces for cognitive digital control twin composable services, augmented worker interventions, European quality data marketplace) across all phases of product and process lifecycle (engineering, planning, operation and production) building upon the QU4LITY autonomous quality model to meet the Industry 4.0 ZDM challenges (cost and time effective brownfield ZDM deployment, flexible ZDM strategy design & adaptation, agile operation of zero defect processes & products, zero break down sustainable manufacturing process operation and human centred manufacturing).