Italiana Coke and Paul Wurth, part of the SMS group, have signed an agreement to install a test facility for assessing a newly developed CO2 reducing technology at Italiana Coke’s production site in Cairo Montenotte (Savona), Italy.

For over 100 years, Italiana Coke has been working alongside numerous companies in various industrial sectors as suppliers of coke, reaching international markets by means of an integrated logistics system. Since taking over Eni’s coke production and bulk logistics operations in 1994, the company has focused on the growth and continuous improvement of its operational activities and customer satisfaction. Continuous technological advancements at the plants have given Italiana Coke the opportunity to team up with a number of major companies around the world.

“I am convinced this is the right direction to achieve significant results in terms of emission abatement. This co-operation is a further important step towards carbon neutral ironmaking for which Paul Wurth and SMS group aim to be the technological front runners”.

Thomas Hansmann, chief technology and operations officer of Paul Wurth.

The project is all about validating the feasibility of a process developed by Paul Wurth to generate CO2neutral hot syngas from coke plant by-products by dry reforming. The subsequent utilisation of syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) in the blast furnace decreases the portion of fossil reductants and thus reduces CO2 emissions in the hot metal production process by 15-20%, with competitive operating costs and no CO2 taxation incurred.

“Italiana Coke and Paul Wurth have a long history of co-operation and research. In the frame of our efforts to improve and search for better environmental performances, Italiana Coke is proud to help Paul Wurth pilot an innovative project and test a revolutionary technology, aimed at reducing steel production cycle emissions worldwide”.

Paolo Cervetti, managing director of Italiana Coke S.r.l.

Luxembourg-based Paul Wurth was established in 1870 and is currently focusing on the development of solutions for leading the transformation of the steel industry towards carbon-free steel production.