The massive CO2 emissions associated with modern iron- and steelmaking have become one of the largest environmental burdens of our generation, and the international steel market is forecast to grow by at least 30–35 % during the next 30 years [1, 2]. Therefore, the institute conducts interdisciplinary and multiscale research on the physical and chemical foundations for improving the sustainability of steels, with a focus on reduced CO2-intense production and low-energy synthesis. These goals can in principle be reached by combining several types of iron carriers, such as oxidic fines, lump ore, or scrap, with a variety of carbon-free reduction media, such as hydrogen or ammonia, in different types of furnaces.
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