[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/14143\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFrom sewer to furnace: how wastewater sludge is greening steel production\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat comes out of our wastewater treatment plants may not be very appealing, but the real problem is what is left behind after water treatment. Wastewater plants produce a liquid sludge that is usually dried and then burnt or dumped. This is costly, polluting, and has long been considered wasteful.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA group of EU-funded researchers see it differently. This sludge, they argue, could become an unlikely ally in the fight against climate change \u2013 a feedstock for producing the hydrogen and carbon needed to make greener steel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis sludge has value, it is not just waste,\u201d said David Chiaramonti, professor of energy systems, energy economics and the bioeconomy at the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy. \u201cWith it we can create things like carbon and hydrogen.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ETowards green steel\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChiaramonti is leading an EU-funded research initiative called H2STEEL that brings together academics and steel industry experts from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Their goal is to design a process to extract the useful materials from wastewater sludge so that they can be reused and help reduce the steel industry\u2019s emissions. \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EWe take a little-used resource, wastewater sludge, and make it useful again.\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EDavid Chiaramonti, H2STEEL\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESteel production is essential for everything from aeroplanes and cars to buildings and wind turbines. It is also a major driver of climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to a 2023 report by the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iea.org\/reports\/emissions-measurement-and-data-collection-for-a-net-zero-steel-industry\/executive-summary\u0022\u003EInternational Energy Agency\u003C\/a\u003E, the steel sector alone accounts for 8% of global CO\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-family:\u0026quot;Calibri\u0026quot;,sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;line-height:107%;\u0022 lang=\u0022EN-GB\u0022\u003E\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E emissions. By comparison, the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iea.org\/energy-system\/transport\/aviation\u0022\u003Eaviation industry\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;emits about 2.5% of global CO\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-family:\u0026quot;Calibri\u0026quot;,sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;line-height:107%;\u0022 lang=\u0022EN-GB\u0022\u003E\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECutting these emissions is particularly difficult. Steelmaking is complex and typically requires carbon-rich ingredients, which inevitably release greenhouse gases. That makes it one of the hardest industries to decarbonise \u2013 and one of the most expensive to transform.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditional steel production methods face increasing carbon pricing pressures across Europe under the EU\u2019s Emissions Trading System. According to market forecasts, carbon prices could reach \u20ac120-150 per tonne of CO\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-family:\u0026quot;Calibri\u0026quot;,sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;line-height:107%;\u0022 lang=\u0022EN-GB\u0022\u003E\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E by 2030, potentially adding significant costs per tonne of steel produced.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor a global steel market worth more than \u20ac2.5 trillion annually, finding affordable low-carbon alternatives is urgent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHot sludge\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is where H2STEEL comes in. \u201cIt\u2019s a good example of the circular economy,\u201d said Chiaramonti. \u201cWe take a little-used resource, wastewater sludge, and make it useful again.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe process works in two main steps. First, sludge is heated without oxygen to create\u0026nbsp;biocoal, in a process called \u201ccarbonisation\u201d. Then methane from biogas plants is processed using this biocoal as a catalyst to produce hydrogen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring this process, the biocoal becomes even richer in carbon, making it valuable for steelmaking. Another by-product, phosphorus, is separated for use in fertilisers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth outputs \u2013 hydrogen and carbon-rich biocoal \u2013 could help make steel cleaner. Traditional steelmaking burns coal with iron ore, releasing CO\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-family:\u0026quot;Calibri\u0026quot;,sans-serif;font-size:11.0pt;line-height:107%;\u0022 lang=\u0022EN-GB\u0022\u003E\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E. With H2STEEL\u2019s approach, hydrogen can replace some of that coal. Meanwhile, the biocoal substitutes regular coal, turning waste into a useful industrial input.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is now building a\u0026nbsp;4-metre-tall processing machine in Turin to demonstrate the technology. \u201cWe break the biomethane into carbon and hydrogen by using the carbonised sludge at 900\u00b0C,\u201d explained Chiaramonti. \u201cThat\u2019s how we turn it into biocoal and circular hydrogen.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECarbon and hydrogen\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOfficial results are not available yet for the project, which will finish in March 2026, but the potential is significant.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDecarbonising steel is attracting intense research efforts, from electrical furnaces to hydrogen-based processes. H2STEEL\u2019s sludge-based approach could slot into this wider transformation. \u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003EWith this technology we can already reduce emissions now, and it will continue to be useful in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EJan Wiencke, H2STEEL\u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis technology is very flexible,\u201d said Jan Wiencke, team leader for sustainable carbon at steelmaker ArcelorMittal\u2019s research centre in Maizi\u00e8res, northern France.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHeadquartered in Luxembourg, ArcelorMittal is the second-largest steel producer in the world.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EThe company\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;also a partner in the H2STEEL project and\u0026nbsp;hopes\u0026nbsp;to be able to use the technology being developed at their steel plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhether we use a hydrogen furnace or an electrical one, we will still need ingredients like carbon and hydrogen in our processes,\u201d said Wiencke.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cWith this technology we can already reduce emissions now, and it will continue to be useful in the future.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther partners include Leiden University in the Netherlands and Imperial College London.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENext steps\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of H2STEEL\u2019s biggest advantages is speed. If trials succeed, the technology could be rolled out within a few years \u2013 unusually fast in an industry where infrastructure changes often take decades.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStill, challenges remain. \u201cWe need to secure the sludge, transform it, and deliver it to the steel plants,\u201d said Chiaramonti. Setting up supply chains and minimising costs will be crucial.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArcelorMittal, which aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, is watching closely. \u201cThis is a great technology for the steel industry, but it must prove itself economically,\u201d said Wiencke.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA patent is already pending, and the partners are eager to see results from the demonstrator. \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing looks very promising,\u201d said Chiaramonti. \u201cNow it\u2019s a question of taking the last steps.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf successful, H2STEEL could deliver more than a technical breakthrough. By turning waste into valuable raw materials, it embodies the principles of the\u0026nbsp;circular economy, helping Europe stay competitive while moving closer to its net-zero goals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme. The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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