According to Primetals Technologies, the combination of hydrogen injection and sequence impulse process (SIP) technology offers the potential to lower carbon emissions by improving furnace efficiency. 

SIP technology already is being used to inject oxygen in classic coke-based furnaces, and the goal of the research is to show that the technology can work with hydrogen. 

As Primetals Technologies explains: “In regular blast furnace operation, coal injection results in char deposits accumulating, which restricts penetration of the dead man and limits the gas flow into the furnace center. With SIP implemented, the shock waves from high-pressure oxygen pulses penetrate deep into the raceway, combusting the fine char and improving coke permeability.”

The technology already is in use at a blast furnace at thyssenkrupp’s Steel Europe’s Schwelgern site in Germany. The research project is to conclude in 2028.