Iron and steel is the largest UK manufacturing industry in terms of energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Currently, more than 6 Mt of steel per year are produced in six blast furnaces at two steelworks with specific energy consumptions of 19 GJ/t of steel and overall direct CO2 emissions of 13 Mt, contributing 25% to GHG emissions from UK manufacturing. Combustion of blast furnace gas (BFG) in the power station causes ~ 50% of CO2 emissions.

In BREIN-STORM we propose to convert the BFG from steel mills into valuable products, such as hydrogen and pure carbon dioxide. This will be achieved by combining calcium and chemical looping gas-solid reactions (CaL-CLC). This four-year project comprises four interlinked work packages (WPs):
1. WP1 will develop and scale up different multi-functional materials based on calcium oxide as sorbent and copper-oxide oxygen carriers. We will focus on increasing the stability over cycling operation and the sorption capacity of the materials. The produced material will be tested and characterised to examine longevity. The kinetics models will be derived to enable the scale up.
2. WP2 will focus on the development and testing of the reactor. We will carry out the experimental demonstration and long-term testing under different reactive conditions in packed and fluidised bed configurations. The experimental results will be used to validate the reactor model. The knowledge gained both from the experimental and numerical activities will be used as guidance for future pilot-scale demonstration of the technology.
3. In WP3, the CaL-CLC process will be integrated into the steelworks through a conceptual design. The techno-economic performance of the process will be compared with standard state-of-the-art technologies in the steel sector. The integration of renewables sources will be studied with the aim of designing a first 'green' steelworks plant.
4. In WP4, the developed process will be evaluated on environmental impacts as well as social and policy implications.