Insights from Jonas and Adrian at the ESTEP Event

The event collected various aspects of the steel industry. These forums are important to find synergies and collaboration opportunities between projects. A large focus was placed on hydrogen in many forms, both for heating and for reduction. A session was also dedicated to scrap-related projects where PURESCRAP makes its contribution. Each of the projects working on scrap takes a different approach as to where in the process the methods are implemented, both at different locations in the scrap processing chain and also in materials handling at the metals producer site. There are also differences as to what information is extracted from the scrap and for what purpose, whether it is chemical analysis for charge planning or scrap class identification for mix-up detection. All projects, however, work with some kind of sensor installation, data collection and methods to characterise scrap classes.

Important for all projects is also the need to understand the market and the acceptance of the solution. Even more important than developing a potent solution is ensuring it will be used. This is where the PURESCRAP report "Market analysis and guidelines for transferability" comes in, the results of which were the main focus of the PURESCRAP presentation at the event. The market analysis not only takes technological factors into account but also provides an overview of the current status of implementing improved processing for low-grade scrap. Human-centred aspects, which are important when implementing new solutions, are also considered. To this end, stakeholders from steel companies and scrap recyclers, as well as representatives of research institutions, were surveyed and interviewed.

The results thereby show a clear need for more sensor technology solutions. The expectation is that sensor technologies will be increasingly in demand for scrap processing in the future, while the experts believe that the current state of sensor technology will not be sufficient to meet future challenges. Although various sensor technologies are in use in different companies, there is a lack of a combination of sensors in a cyber-physical system that can provide operators with specific information and data - as planned in the PURESCRAP project. In addition, the experts emphasise that a lack of skilled labour can be one of the main obstacles to the introduction of improved processing methods for low-grade scrap. Employees involved in scrap processing will be confronted with higher demands on their digital skills, green skills, and technical skills in the future. In order to fulfil these requirements, internal training measures play a major role for companies. In addition, the requirements for cooperation between steel companies and scrap recyclers are also increasing. They must increase and improve their communication and transparency in order to be able to meet the future demand for scrap.