Solving issues in carbon-neutral iron and steel making processes with diverse input materials of varying quality (Clean Steel Partnership) (RIA)

Projects must contribute to at least three of the following: 1) Validate innovative carbon-neutral iron and steel making solutions in a system-level approach considering diverse material qualities and energy requirements; 2) Address high-risk macroscopic and microscopic factors via detailed physical and chemical characterisation to ensure optimal process function; 3) Solve system-level issues across at least two low-CO₂ production routes; 4) Define solutions and concepts for material substitutions or modifications in innovative low-CO₂ installations; 5) Improve reliability of low-CO₂ steel production to achieve high-quality products by clarifying effects of material/process variables and system aspects; 6) Clarify how crude steel quality variations affect final steel properties and lifespan; 7) Assess impacts of input material quality on residue characteristics and its valorisation potential; 8) Provide an impact analysis covering materials and energy balances, solution viability and by-products.

Proposals must address at least four of the following: 1) De-risk and extend operational windows of low-CO₂ iron and steel making technologies in system-level scenarios; 2) Target heterogeneity of reductants and feedstocks (various physical states and purity grades) while considering their production sustainability; 3) Achieve high-quality steel from low-quality inputs by adapting microstructure via material preparation, process technologies, detection/measurement systems and multi-scale models; 4) Micro-/nano-characterise and compare low-carbon liquid iron/crude steel production combining direct reduced iron (DRI) of varying qualities from primary and secondary sources, aiming for closed-loop material cycles; 5) Couple characterisation with plant design optimisation and operational risk mitigation; 6) Define pre-processing requirements for primary and secondary iron-containing materials, assessing impacts on process and metallurgy; 7) Use analytical research infrastructures to support simulations and modelling under FAIR and interoperable data standards; 8) Consider regional/country-specific and cross-sectoral conditions (energy, water recovery/use); 9) Employ life cycle assessment (LCA) or life cycle costing (LCC) to benchmark progress towards carbon neutrality; 10) Leverage European pilot plants to correlate real-world and laboratory-scale research; Plus at least one of: sensor development for high-temperature environments; fast digital techniques and AI/ML-enabled modelling; heat-exchange-based heat recovery; low-cost on-site hydrogen production concepts.