The steel industry is one of Europe’s most challenging sectors to decarbonise, responsible for 7–9% of global CO2 emissions and heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Around 60% of EU steel is produced via the BF–BOF route, reliant on imported coking coal, while the transition towards natural gas–based and hydrogen–based DRI remains exposed to high costs, fuel price volatility, and infrastructure limitations. Meeting the EU’s ambitious climate neutrality targets and the proposed 90% GHG reduction by 2040 requires disruptive technologies that enable both deep emission cuts and full integration of renewable electricity into core ironmaking processes.
ELEKTRA directly addresses this challenge by developing and demonstrating a portfolio of electrified, intensified reactor technologies that replace conventional fired units with efficient, renewable-powered systems. The project is structured around three pillars: (1) Electrified reformers for natural gas and DRI top-gas, compact Joule-heated systems that eliminate combustion losses, improve thermal efficiency, and enable flexible syngas production; (2) Electrified ammonia crackers, induction-heated units capable of delivering pure hydrogen with minimal NH₃ slip, aligned with Europe’s ammonia import strategy; and (3) Plasma-assisted CO2→CO recycling, an innovative pathway that directly reinjects recycled CO into BF and DRI loops, reducing hydrogen demand, closing the carbon cycle, and cutting coke use.
Validated in collaboration with leading industrial partners including ArcelorMittal, Fertiberia, Iberdrola, SNAM, and Johnson Matthey, ELEKTRA will reach TRL 7 for reformers and crackers, and TRL 6 for plasma CO2 recycling, with a roadmap to deployment by 2035. The outcomes will deliver ≥25% energy savings compared to state-of-the-art, reduce emissions across BF and DRI routes, and increase Europe’s resilience by lowering fossil fuel dependencies.
