Industrie De Nora S.p.A (Milan, Italy) announced that it is one of the Partners in the European project HyTecHeat, along with, among others, Snam and Tenova. This project involves the use of hybrid technologies for the production of steel with low CO2 emissions. De Nora will supply the new 1-MW capacity Dragonfly on-site electrolytic hydrogen generation system, contributing to emissions’ reduction in a traditionally hard-to-abate sector.
The HyTecHeat (Hybrid Technologies for sustainable steel reheating) project is an initiative part of the “Horizon Europe” program, funded by the European Union with about 3.3 million euros. The project envisages the use of the Dragonfly system in steel production processes, an activity that is energy-intensive and therefore highly impactful on an environmental level. The goal is to reduce this impact in the heat treatment and heating stages, which are still exclusively based on natural gas, by increasing the percentage of low-carbon hydrogen used in these processes in a more and more virtuous hybridization of the two resources.
This is the first use case of the new Dragonfly electrolyzer, an innovative product developed by De Nora as a natural evolution of the company’s vast experience in electrode design and production. The high performance of this new product is possible thanks to the use of DSA electrodes, developed by De Nora, which guarantee maximum efficiency.
In particular, the electrolyzer makes it possible to meet the needs of a wide range of industries that require on-site hydrogen generation, such as the chemical, pharmaceutical, biogas, oleochemical, and refinery industries, as it is a small unit designed to be installed at the end customer’s facility. The system, which has been in testing at an industrial site for more than a year and has already obtained all certifications to operate, is now for the first time being used in a project of European significance.
In this particular case, project partner Tenova, a world leader in providing technologies for the metallurgical and mining industries, will host this best case demonstration with the support of Snam, which will oversee the hydrogen storage system.
Paolo Dellachà, CEO of De Nora, commented, “We are proud to announce our participation as a partner in this project of European significance, which will represent the first use case of the new Dragonfly electrolyzer, a versatile and high-quality product that will make our role as facilitators of the energy transition even easier. The market launch of this solution is the tangible result of our significant investments in R&D, which is key to maintaining our position as a company at the forefront of the sectors where we operate”.