Design of a modular and heterogeneous electrolysis system to increase flexibility in the use case of direct iron reduction

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Contributors

Abstract

2021, Germany produced 40 million tons of crude steel, making it the largest producer in the EU. The steel industry accounted for 55 million tons of CO2-equivalents, or 7.2% of national greenhouse gas emissions, with about 70% of production relying on conventional blast furnaces. Hydrogen offers a promising pathway to decarbonize this sector. This study investigates how electrolysis systems can be rapidly scaled while maintaining flexibility to adapt to fluctuating electricity prices. A blast furnace simulation model from the literature was extended by integrating a large-scale heterogeneous electrolysis system, and its responsiveness to dynamic electricity costs was assessed. Results show that waste heat integration is insufficient for systems based solely on HTEL. The most efficient configuration was a combination of 40% HTEL and 60% PEMEL, achieving 3.46 MWh per ton of crude steel. A price-driven control principle for electrolysis was successfully implemented and validated with literature data. While Germany remains a key steel producer, countries such as Brazil already achieve more efficient production due to higher renewable shares and lower electricity prices.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number108801
Number of pages17
JournalEnergy reports
Volume15
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0001-7956-7955/work/201622922
ORCID /0000-0003-3954-7786/work/201623831
ORCID /0000-0002-5814-5128/work/201623924
ORCID /0000-0001-5165-4459/work/201624505
ORCID /0009-0009-9864-8924/work/201625087

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Green steel, Heterogen electrolysis, Hydrogen, Iron direct reduction, Modularization