A summary of the findings of the Steel Research Technical Groups : 2023

The Research Fund for Coal and Steel has made significant contributions to the European Green Deal and contributes through its steel-related research and innovation projects to the Clean Steel Partnership, the EU’s new industrial strategy and the sustainable Europe investment plan. The fund’s portfolio of projects addresses key areas such as decarbonisation, process control and waste management, covering various aspects of the steel industry, including ironand steelmaking, downstream steel processing, the conception of steel products, steel applications and solutions, and steel factories – smart and human. The project portfolio contributes to several key performance indicators of the Clean Steel Partnership, including decreasing scope 1 and 2 emissions, decreasing specific energy consumption, and reusing and recycling solid residues. This report summarises the key outcomes and recommendations of five expert meetings of the steel research technical groups in 2023. It highlights the potential for collaboration and synergies among the portfolio of steel-related projects, and also with EU-funded initiatives of the Clean Steel Partnership, Horizon Europe and others. The report also provides recommendations for future calls, including an additional focus on additive manufacturing, prolonging the service life of and reuse of steel from industrial assets, the primary energy sector, and incorporating artificial intelligence and predictive simulation models in innovative steel products. It recommends the inclusion of key performance indicators to measure the impact of systems and solutions developed in a final assessment. The report concludes that the fund’s portfolio is well positioned to contribute to the European Green Deal objectives and the Clean Steel Partnership key performance indicators, with opportunities for further development and implementation