Kanthal, a world leader in industrial electric heating technology, and Danieli, a leading global supplier of turnkey plants and equipment for the steel industry, have announced a strategic partnership to introduce on an industrial scale the effective direct heating solution of Kanthal process gas, Prothal® DH. By installing Prothal® DH in DRI systems equipped for Energiron hydrogen, you will obtain completely ecological DRI production. Furthermore, the introduction of Prothal® DH technology in blast furnace operation will reduce CO2 emissions in steel production.
Global megatrends are promoting the demand for decarbonisation of industrial activities and with 7% of total global emissions the steel industry is in the spotlight as one of the largest producers of CO2 in the world. Several projects, especially in Europe, are developing hydrogen-based direct iron reduction processes (H2-DRI) with the aim of eliminating CO2 emissions, promoting eco-sustainable steel production.
Under the name Prothal® DH, Kanthal has introduced an electric solution for the direct heating of process gases to high temperatures, an important step towards the creation of emission-free DRI systems. This solution has been successfully tested in a pilot plant, the collaboration between Kanthal and Danieli will allow the technology to be perfected for industrial applications, up to 100 megawatts.
The goal is to have a solution ready for commercialization in 2027.
“We are now taking another step closer to commercializing large-scale electric gas heaters, which will be key to substantially reducing or even eliminating CO2 emissions. We are excited to team up with one of the world’s leading experts in DRI technology to make it possible the green turning point of the steel industry”, says Simon Lile, President of the Heating Systems Business Unit at Kanthal.
The heating solution will be developed for hydrogen, natural gas and controlled atmospheres, thus allowing the retrofitting of existing DRI plants.
“Even for DRI natural gas plants, the electrification of the heating system allows for a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 30%. This partnership allows us to express enormous potential for a new technology that will allow Energiron DR plants to further improve the environmental impact in the race for eco-sustainable steel”, says Marco Lapasin, Vice President of Danieli Engineering Centro Metallics.
Energiron is a DRI technology jointly developed by Tenova and Danieli.
The partnership was announced at the Future Steel Forum event in Stockholm, Sweden. Speaker Dilip Chandrasekaran, Global Business Development Manager at Kanthal, led the development of this unique direct electric heater. “After years of research, design and testing, the solution is now ready to be validated on an industrial scale. We are building on proven technology, but on a scale never achieved before. If successful, this solution has the potential to revolutionize the steel industry,” he said.
