WCA November 2024

Industry News

Hydrogen to decarbonise steel: first trial launched in Italy A first trial has begun in Italy to use hydrogen at a steel plant to process steel products. The collaboration between European energy infrastructure operator Snam, pipe manufacturer TenarisDalmine, and Tenova, a developer and supplier of sustainable solutions for the green transition of the metallurgical industry, will last six months, with the aim of evaluating the performance and reliability of using hydrogen in the steel industry and, more broadly, the sectors that are the most challenging to decarbonise. The goal is to use hydrogen produced on-site to fuel a burner recently developed by Tenova (100 per cent H 2 -ready), installed in a reheating furnace to hot roll seamless pipes at the TenarisDalmine plant in Dalmine, Bergamo, Italy. The test will also help to define and implement safety guidelines and plant management procedures, developing integrated solutions that can lower CO 2 emissions produced by manufacturing processes. TenarisDalmine will provide the site and reheating furnace, contributing its know-how to the installation, operation and performance monitoring of the steel plants. Using its expertise in hydrogen-related technologies and molecule transport, Snam will provide an alkaline electrolysis system to TenarisDalmine, which will operate it to produce the hydrogen needed for the test. Tenova will complete the value chain of the process by pooling its know-how on combustion systems and, in particular, supplying burners specifically designed to be fuelled with hydrogen.

The project also includes a significant contribution from Techint Engineering & Construction, a company that provides design and project management services, and is expanding in the energy transition field, with the development of general and detailed installation engineering, the development of risk analysis and verification of compliance with legal requirements and safety standards. With this first collaboration at the TenarisDalmine plant, Snam is supporting a major industry operator in “hydrogen as a service”, an ad hoc service that enables the use of decarbonised hydrogen in industrial production plants or other application environments, with Snam leasing the electrolysis system to the end user, which operates it. The programme is part of Snam’s broader efforts as a system operator to guide industrial companies in decarbonising processes that need to be tested in view of future large-scale infrastructure solutions. The companies of the Techint Group (TenarisDalmine, Tenova and Techint Engineering & Construction) consolidate their know-how by developing, implementing and validating the technologies required to decarbonise industries by gradually replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen. Tenova Tenaris Snam www.tenova.com www.tenaris.com www.snam.it EP Connectors GmbH uses IQJET printers from Leibinger for the production of cables for the automotive industry at its new plant. Every year, 5,000km of cable needs to be printed reliably and with abrasion resistance. EP Connectors opted for Leibinger as early as the system design phase. “From the original concept through to its successful implementation, we knew we could rely on Leibinger’s experience and expertise,” said Klaus Ciminato, head of cable production at EP Connectors in Bruchsal, Germany. The system is designed for speed and reliability – both required for the production of cables for the automotive industry. The cable insulation lines run at 1,000m per minute. EP Connectors produces stranding with up to 15 cores. In tandem operation, the cable manufacturer’s sheathing line achieves a speed of up to 30m per minute. IQJET printers from Leibinger are integrated directly into the system, ensuring that the corresponding print text is loaded immediately, which reduces set-up times. “Based on my 40 years of experience in the cable sector, we opted for Leibinger printers when developing the system concept because reliability is imperative for us,” explained Mr Ciminato. The printers’ automatic sealing system with closed ink circuit prevents clogging, even during downtime. Paul Leibinger GmbH & Co KG www.leibinger-group.com Cable printing for the automotive industry

Landing at an exhibition near you…

ARRIVALs

wire India 27th-29th November 2024 Mumbai, India

Stand: E61

wire Eurasia 9th-12th April 2025 Istanbul, Turkey

Stand: TBC

Made in Steel 6th-8th May 2025 Milan, Italy

Stand: TBC

Lamiera 6th-9th May 2025 Milan, Italy

Stand: TBC

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November 2024