EEC 2026 - 14th European Electric Steelmaking Conference & EMECR 2026 - 5th International Conference on Energy and Material Efficiency and CO2 Reduction in the Steel Industry

Session

Integration of Renewable Energy & Biochar Applications

13 May 2026, 08:30

Washington room (ground floor)

134. Ecological assessment of the use of hydrochar in EAF operation based on an LCA approach

Carsten Gondorf (IOB - RWTH Aachen University)

13/05/2026, 08:30

EEC 4.D Life cycle assessment (LCA) of electric steelmaking processes

Keynote Presentation

Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) rely on carbonaceous materials (e.g., anthracite, coke breeze, or synthetic graphite) for slag foaming, oxygen refining, and energy efficiency. Replacing fossil-derived carbon with hydrochar, produced via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biogenic residues, could lower the environmental footprint of steelmaking. Yet the net benefit depends strongly on feedstock...

42. Valorization of EAF Slag & Dust for High-Value Applications: Challenges and Technological Solutions

Bernhard Voraberger (Primetals Technologies)

13/05/2026, 08:50

EEC 4.C Waste management and by-product utilization

Oral Presentation

The steel industry’s transition towards lower CO2 emission is accelerating the shift from BF/BOF routes to direct reduction and electric arc furnace (EAF) operations. This green steel transformation will significantly increase EAF-related byproducts such as slags and dusts. Unlike BF slag, widely used as a secondary cementitious material (SCM), EAF slag faces limited utilization due to...

143. Iron Ore Smelting System Using a Sustainable Coal-Based Direct Reduction and CO₂ Sequestration

Gianluca Dall'Osto (Politecnico di Milano)

13/05/2026, 09:10

EMECR 4. Circularity and by-product management in steel industry

Oral presentation (paper for Ironmaking & Steelmaking special issue)

This study presents an innovative system developed within the AdriatiCO2 Project for the direct reduction of iron ore via a smelting process. The system substitutes conventional coking coal with sustainable carbon sources and/or biochar—a renewable reducing agent produced from biomass pyrolysis—and integrates efficient CO₂ capture to minimize the carbon footprint of steelmaking.
In the...

66. Environmental Compliance and Energy Efficiency Strategies for Electric Arc Furnace Steelmaking

paul trunner (Primetals Technologies)

13/05/2026, 09:30

EEC 4.E Compliance with environmental regulations and standards

Oral Presentation

The global transition toward green steelmaking has accelerated the adoption of Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) in both standalone and integrated steel plants. While EAF technology offers flexibility in raw material use and supports decarbonization goals, its implementation introduces significant environmental and operational challenges. Compliance with increasingly stringent regulations on...