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Kanthal and Swerim’s push for sustainable steel
As the steel industry looks for innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions, Kanthal and Swerim collaborate through the ELROS project to tackle the challenge of electrifying steel reheating processes. Along with partners like ABB, Alleima, Outokumpu, SSAB, and Jernkontoret, the research project focuses on replacing fossil fuel-driven furnaces with electric alternatives. By integrating induction heating and electric resistance heating, the project aims to achieve the high temperatures needed for steel production while significantly reducing CO2 emissions.
Thomas Helander from Kanthal and Stefan Marth from Swerim discuss their contributions to the project, which include advanced technical aspects of simulations, furnace conversions, and pilot trials. Their work underscores Kanthal and Swerim's commitment to providing scalable solutions for decarbonizing the steel industry.
The project tested three methods: inductive heating, resistive heating, and a combination of both. According to Stefan Marth, the combined approach produced the most promising results, balancing speed with precision and reducing the time required to reach the target temperature by about one-third compared to resistive heating alone.
Practical implementation and overcoming challenges were carried out at Swerim’s facility in Luleå, where an existing gas-fired furnace was converted to electric heating. Helander notes that the transition posed several challenges, particularly in maintaining the required energy density within the existing furnace size.
"Our objective was to electrify these furnaces while still achieving the high temperatures – up to 1,350°C (2,462°F) – needed for steel production," Thomas Helander says. “The project demonstrated that it’s possible to make a real difference with Kanthal’s electric heating technology.”
"The pilot trials closely resembled real industrial conditions," explains Stefan Marth. "This should make the transition to full-scale industrial implementation straightforward since we tested dimensions and setups similar to real production environments."
The industry response and future potential have been positive, and the success of the test project has bolstered confidence among industry stakeholders in the feasibility of electric heating as a viable alternative to gas-fired furnaces. Both Kanthal and Swerim are optimistic about the scalability of the technology, and steel manufacturers could begin adopting electric reheating technology within the next few years.
The project ELROS (Electric heating of slabs) has been financed by Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency within the Strategic Innovation Program Metalliska Material. The project has been going on for 3 years and ended in the summer of 2024. Participating companies have been: Swerim (Coordinator), Kanthal, ABB, Alleima, Outokumpu, SSAB and Jernkontoret.
Photos
- At the top: Heated blank with thermocouples removed from electrified furnace at Swerims Pilot facility in Luleå. (Photo: Swerim)
- Photo 2: Stefan Marth, Researcher and Group Manager - Heating and Metalworking, Swerim AB. (Photo: Swerim)
- Photo 3: Thomas Helander, R&D expert, Kanthal (Photo: Kanthal)
- Photo 4: Swerims researchers during induction heating trials. (Photo: Swerim)