German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp has announced that it has initiated a project to convert carbon from steel mill gasses into valuable chemicals. The electricity for this project is to come from renewable sources.
ThyssenKrupp said that the intention is for the collaboration between the steel and chemical industries to permit cost-effective carbon recycling into fertilizers or fuel. The project could potentially reduce carbon emissions from steel mills to virtually zero, according to Dr. Reinhold Achatz, ThyssenKrupp's chief technology officer.
According to ThyssenKrupp's statement, if the project is successful, in roughly ten years CO2 will be a valuable raw material and will have a significantly lower impact on the climate. Moreover, it would then be possible to use surplus renewable energies directly in the manufacture of industrial products, creating a new network between the steelmaking, power generation and chemical industries.
Around 40 representatives from research organizations, universities and companies gathered in Duisburg in December 2013 to launch the project. In addition to the Fraunhofer and Max Planck societies, the group includes Ruhr University Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the Duisburg-based Fuel Cell Research Center ZBT. Alongside ThyssenKrupp, the industrial partners involved from the start are BASF, Bayer, RWE and Siemens. The group is open to further members.
