GAs-based MEtal production

If the world is to meet the Paris Climate Agreement as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, sustainable production of metals is key. The development of for example solar and wind energy, weather-safe roads and cities will demand large amounts of metals and metallurgically produced materials. In Norway, the metal industry accounts for almost 20 % of the national export value . The development of climate friendly production processes in this industry is therefore crucial to enable the necessary green transition both in Norway and globally. The proposed project aims to ensure sustainable economic growth in Norway in the long term. Metal production is associated with substantial CO2-emissions that are not related to energy-use, but rather to the core metal-producing processes themselves. The chemical nature of carbon is used as a reducing agent to produce metal and CO2 is a by-product. In the short to medium term, the industry aims to modify raw materials (bio-carbon) and processes (CCS). In the long term however, new processes for metal production are needed. These must be based on other types of reductants, and in this project, the reducing agents of choice are sustainable hydrogen and methane gas. The foreseen main project shall involve a value chain ranging from electricity to metal production. During the pre-project, contact will be initiated with grid operators, power producers, hydrogen and methane gas suppliers, subcontractors, and industry parks. The main objective of this initiative is to establish one or more pilot plants in industrially relevant environments. The upscaling of green transitional processes which can support the pilot will be important milestones on the way.