OPER/144

IBS Center for Management Research

HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

This case was written by K B S Kumar and Indu Perepu, IBS Hyderabad. It was compiled from published sources, and is
intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management
situation.

This case was adjudged Runner-up in the Project Management Institute (PMI) 2019 Instructional Case Writing Competition
at the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting.

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Course: Operations Management
MBA, Semester: II

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 OPER/144

HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production

Process
“Sustainability and a circular economy are very important for our future in
Europe, HIsarna offers benefits in both domains.”1
– Koen Meijer, ULCOS/HIsarna Project Coordinator, R&D Ironmaking,
Tata Steel
Steel, the most recycled industrial material in the world, is produced through highly energy
intensive methods. Though the amount of energy used to produce steel has been coming down
since the 1960s, it consumes 6% of all the power generated in the world, and accounts for 6.7% of
all the CO2 emissions. The European Union’s target is to cut its emissions to 80 – 95% of the 1990
levels by 2050 through the adoption of the circular economy and it is looking at closing the loop of
product lifecycles through recycling and reuse.
As far as the steel industry is concerned, it has been looking at increasing the efficiency of
production, and redesign processes to reduce CO2 emissions. In this direction, in 2004, eight steel
makers in Europe along with 48 universities and research organizations in the continent formed a
consortium called Ultra-Low Carbon Dioxide Steelmaking (ULCOS). The main objective of
ULCOS was to identify technologies and processes to help reduce carbon emissions, ensure energy
efficiency, and achieve flexibility in the selection of raw materials in the steel industry. The
consortium decided to bring improvements in the steel making process and looked at several ways
to introduce changes in the way steel was manufactured to ensure it was done in an economically
and environmentally viable manner.
In this direction, the European unit of India-based steel major Tata Steel was chosen to execute the
€ 75 million project to develop a new technology. This resulted in the HIsarna steelmaking
process, which consisted of two different processes, one from metal and mining company Rio
Tinto2 and the other from Tata Steel. The process was developed and tested at Tata Steel’s
IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands. After several years of experiments and trial runs, HIsarna was
successful in reducing the carbon footprint in steel production by 20%. By capturing the pure CO2
that was generated during the process, the carbon footprint could be 80% smaller.
“HIsarna’s results show we can make a significant contribution to improving the sustainability of
steel production with this Tata Steel technology. The development of this technology forges our
ambition to become a steel company which is sustainable in all respects,” 3 said Hans Fischer, Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Technical Officer of Tata Steel’s European operations. The steel makers
were of the view that the HIsarna technology would prove to be a game changer in the steel industry,
pave the way for sustainable steel production globally, and also offer solutions to challenges like
increasing pollution, growing CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change.

1
“The People behind HIsarna,” www.tatasteeleurope.com.
2
Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational and one of the world's largest metals and mining
corporations. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors
purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the Spanish government
3
Tata Steel unveils sustainable steel production technology in Europe, economictimes.indiatimes.com,
September 06, 2018.

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 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

TATA STEEL

Tata Steel is a part of India-based conglomerate Tata Group. Founded in 1868 as a trading
company, the Tata Group had operations in more than 100 countries as of 2018. The Group had
featured on the list of the world’s most reputable and most innovative companies for several years.
Tata Sons Private Limited is the holding company of the Tata Group and 66% equity capital of
Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts.
The Tata Group always strove to do business in a sustainable manner. In the mid-2000s, the Group
introduced a policy to measure its carbon footprint. It was active in climate advocacy and also
began measuring its water footprint in 2012. In 2014, a new organization, the Tata Sustainability
Group, was formed to partner with other Tata companies in their CSR initiatives.
Tata Steel was incorporated in 1907 in India as Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd and commenced
its Blast Furnace operations in 1911. In 1918, it established India’s first steel plant. In 1984, it
introduced Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steelmaking, where liquid steel was produced in 45
minutes. It then went on to introduce new technologies like Hot Strip mill, Cold rolling mill, etc.
The company also expanded globally through joint ventures and acquisitions. These included a
joint venture with Blue Scope Steel, in Australia; a joint venture with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki
Kaisha in Japan; the Mozambique coal project in association with Riversdale Mining; a venture
with the state owned company for mineral development in the Ivory Coast for the development of
iron ore deposits in Mount Nimba; and a joint venture with New Millennium Capital, Canada, for
developing iron ore products.
In 2007, Tata Steel acquired Europe’s second largest steel producer Corus for US$ 12 billion
(British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens merged to form Corus in 1999). The acquisition made
Tata Steel the sixth largest steel producer in the world.
As of 2017, Tata Steel had manufacturing units in 26 countries and a commercial presence in more
than 50 countries. The company’s production capacity was 28 million tons per annum as of March
2017. It operated thorough six Strategic Business Units – the Bearings Division, Ferro Alloys and
Minerals Division, Agrico Division, Tata Growth Shop (TGS), Tubes Division, and Wire Division.
(Refer to Exhibit I for the global presence of Tata Steel).
Tata Steel was the second largest steel producer in Europe as of 2017, with a crude steel
production capacity of 12.1 million tons per annum. In Europe, it had two integrated blast furnace-
based steelmaking sites in IJmuiden in the Netherlands and Port Talbot in South Wales. Rolling
mills, coating lines, and other operations were located in the UK, Belgium, France, Turkey, the
Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany. As of March 2018, sales of Tata Steel in Europe stood at €7.9
billion.
Taking care of the community and the environment was the core value of Tata Steel, and the
company was committed to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Tata Steel was of
the view that these were necessary to reduce production costs, improve its competitive position,
and also combat climate change. The company maximized the usage of by-products and recycling
of waste in steel production.
The concern for climate change and concentration on reducing CO2 emissions was more prominent
in Europe where the steel industry as a whole was working toward these goals. Tata Steel’s
emissions in the IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands were 1.7 tons of carbon dioxide per one ton of
steel4. (Refer to Exhibit II for the details of Tata Group and IJmuiden plant)

4
Global average was 1.9 tons of CO2 per ton of steel.

2
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

STEEL INDUSTRY

The steel industry played a major role in the global economy. Steel was extensively used in
industries like construction, heavy engineering, infrastructure development, shipping, and
automobile, as well as in the production of coal, natural gas, electricity, and raw minerals. The
production of steel increased constantly over the years, and 1.5 billion tons of steel were produced
in 2012 as against 0.85 million tons in 2001. Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, was one of the
most recycled industrial materials in the world with 97% of steel being reused, remanufactured, or
recycled to create new products.
In steel making, two fundamental routes were used – an integrated steel plant and a mini-mill.
The dominating technology used in the integrated steel plant was the blast furnace. It involved
reducing iron ore to iron (hot metal in liquid form and pig iron in solid form) and then converting
iron to steel. Iron oxide ore, coke, and limestone were injected into the top of the blast furnace, and
pre-heated air was blown into the bottom. The preheated air reacted with coke to give CO, which
then reacted with iron oxide to produce iron and carbon dioxide. Pig iron from the blast furnace
and ferrous scrap were refined in a basic oxygen furnace into steel. The liquid steel was then
treated metallurgically before it was cast in various shapes. This route was used for 60% of the
steel production in the EU.
But this process came under pressure due to its economic and environmental impact. Preheating
used a lot of energy, and making coke was also an energy-intensive process requiring crushed coal
to be heated to 1100°C without oxygen. If the ore had low iron content, it had to be fired in a
furnace to produce large pieces called sinter.
In the mini-mill, direct reduction-based technologies (DRI) were used. Iron was converted into
steel in a basic oxygen furnace by blowing pure oxygen at high speed into molten iron through an
Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). The excess carbon present in iron was burnt, leading to emissions of
CO and CO2. For this process high grade ores with more than 68% iron had to be used. DRI
needed cheap natural gas and electricity. In Europe, such a facility was located in Hamburg,
Germany. This process consumed high amounts of electricity and emissions were also high.
Mini-mills also used the smelting reduction process, where hot metal was produced from ore in the
molten state without the blast furnace being used. Iron was smelted to produce hot metal, which
was converted into liquid steel in a BOF. This generated slag that was put to further use. The
technology was mostly used in processes where coke was replaced by coal. It was used in regions
where sufficient primary energy sources were absent. The CO2 intensity in smelting was 25%
higher than in the blast furnace. (Refer to Figure I for the details of steel production).
Figure I: Steel Production

Source: www.totalmateria.com

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 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

Integrated steel plants were the largest point sources of CO2 emissions. But the blast furnace
continued to be the single largest process for iron-making and its proportion was expected to come
down by 2050. (Refer to Exhibit III for Hot metal production in the European Union)
Some manufacturers reduced energy use by capturing and reusing by-product gases to generate heat
and electricity using pulverized coal and thermal insulation. With the improvements in technology,
the energy used to make steel fell by 30% by 2015 compared to 2000. Still, steel continued to be an
energy-intensive production system consuming 5-6% of the power produced globally.
Carbon emissions were a part and parcel of steel production. Carbon was used to produce liquid
iron to bind oxygen atoms present in the ore in order to produce pure liquid iron. Steel production
accounted for 6.7% of all CO2 emissions and the iron and steel industry was the largest industrial
source of CO2 emissions. On an average 1.9 tons of CO2 were emitted for every ton of steel
produced. Primary iron making accounted for 85% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
With rising energy costs, raw material expenses, and stricter environmental regulations, steel
manufacturers began looking for more efficient and sustainable processes of steel production.
Sustainable steel production called for a system that reduced the use of energy and was flexible in
terms of raw materials used and energy utilized. Such a system would be able to use low quality
coal and iron and also natural gas, biomass, and clean electricity instead of coking coal.
Developing such systems called for huge investments and capital expenses, and could be done
only with the support of governments and consortia of global steel majors.
The steel industry in Europe had made significant progress in reducing carbon emissions, but was
looking at further reduction in energy use and a further lowering of carbon emissions. With the
world steel consumption expected to double by 2050, the steel makers were looking at lowering
the CO2 emissions without adding considerable costs and undermining process efficiency. This
called for sweeping changes in the steel making process. The European steelmakers had almost
reached the limits of the available processes, and for achieving further reductions, a new process
was needed.

ULCOS – ULTRA-LOW CARBON DIOXIDE STEELMAKING

The Paris Agreement5 set standards for CO2 reductions globally. The European Union was
targeting to cut the emission levels by 80%–95% of the 1990 levels by 2050. The European Union
was also looking toward developing a circular economy to reduce pressure on the environment and
to enhance security of supply of raw materials.
In 2004, the European Union asked the steel industry to reduce its carbon footprint. The European
steel industry on its part was committed to lowering process costs, reducing energy use, and
enabling more resource efficient processes. Thus, the ULCOS consortium was formed in 2004,
with the purpose of identifying processes that would help reduce carbon emissions in steel
production by 50% per ton by 2050. ULCOS was the largest steel industry project on climate
change mitigation. The core partners included steel companies ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel,
ThyssenKrupp, Ilva, Voestalpine, LKAB, DillingerHütte/Saarstahl, SSAB, and Rautaruukki. There
were 48 institutes, universities, and engineering companies that were co-partners. The budget of
ULCOS was € 70 million, of which the partners funded 60% and the European Commission
contributed the rest through Research and Technological Development. To approach the issue of
climate change proactively, the steel industry invested significantly in evaluating technologies to
reduce the carbon footprint in steel production.

5
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, starting in the year
2020.

4
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

The program was carried out in two phases. The first phase (2004-2010) was theoretical research
and the pilot test phase. The second phase (2010-2015) was for preparing for the industrial
application of the technical solution.
The consortium looked for an iron making process that could reduce CO2 emission, was
economical, technically mature, and had other environmental benefits, while fitting in with the
existing configuration.
The ULCOS program had four steps:
i. process concept-building
ii. large-scale demonstration
iii. large-scale experimentation of a first commercial plant
iv. deployment in Europe and in the world
The consortium went through over 80 concept options and shortlisted 4 processes for further
investigation and scale-up for commercial implementation. (Refer to Table I for different
processes).
Table I: Four Processes shortlisted by ULCOS
 Top gas recycling blast furnace: The gases were separated and the useful gases were fed
back into the furnace. This resulted in savings on coke use. The existing blast furnaces could
be fitted with this technology.
 CCF or HIsarna: This technology was based on smelting and used considerably less coke.
This reduced CO2 emissions.
 Gas based Reduction: Here, iron was produced directly from iron ore via a reducing gas
produced from natural gas. After this, the iron was converted into steel.
 Electrolysis of iron ore: Here, iron and oxygen were produced by the electrolysis of iron
ore. This technology was the least developed of the three alternatives. However, the process
emitted no CO2. This was developed specifically for the ULCOS program, and would be
effective when green electricity was accessible
Source: www.sustainableinsteel.eu
These four processes were tested and ULCOS decided on developing the HIsarna further.

HISARNA

HIsarna originated from HI-for HIsmelt (process from Rio Tinto) and sarana from Isarna, the
Celtic word for iron. It was a combination of three processes namely, the heated screw coal
pyrolysis feeder, Cyclone Converter Furnace (CCF), and the HIsmelt vessel.
For the HIsarna process, Tata Steel’s hot metal desulfurization plant in IJmuidin was chosen due to
location advantages like railway connectivity, deep sea harbor, good logistic connections, and
suitable capacity. The initial stage of the project was supervised by ULCOS’s technical committee
and Rio Tinto.
HIsmelt was a Smelt Reduction Vessel (SRV) started by Rio Tinto in the 1980s in a pilot plant in
Maxhütte, Germany. HIsmelt was started as an ironmaking modification bottom blown steel
converter process.6 This was followed by another plant in Western Australia where 8 tons of steel

6
Iron oxides in the slag were reduced at the slag / metal interface. Then granular coal was injected which
supplied carbon and created intense mixing. Due to this the FeO in the slag was low.

5
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

were produced per hour. In the early 2000s, a commercial plant was started in Kwinana, Australia,
with a production capacity of 60,000 tons per annum. Though the plant was later closed down due
to unfavorable market conditions, the process left behind huge learning and experience.
CCF was developed in 1986 by then Hoogovens in IJmuiden. This was used for melting and
partial reducing of partial iron ores. Pure oxygen was injected to generate the required melting
temperatures and the fines were separated from the gas by the centrifugal flow of the gas. This
consisted of ore and oxygen injection into CCF in the presence of hot smelter gas, and molten ore
was collected in the slag pot. This unit was stored by Hoogovens.
CCF was selected by ULCOS as one of the four high-potential technologies, and this was brought
together with HIsmlet to get a win-win combination.
The HIsarna concept involved a two stage contact between iron and gas. Both the stages were
operated above melting temperatures. The two-stage process was highly integrated and both stages
were operated as a single smelting furnace. (Refer to Figure II for the two-stage concept).
The CCF was mainly a pre-reduction vessel that pre-reduced and melted the iron ore particles,
while the final reduction to metallic iron took place in the SRV. The CCF was placed above the
SRV and crushed ore and oxygen was injected into the CCF. The oxygen produced the necessary
heat to reduce and melt the iron ore. The molten iron oxide fell from the CCF into the molten iron
bath in the SRV. (Refer to Exhibit IV for the depiction of HIsarna).
Figure II: Two-Stage Concept

To produce liquid iron in a blast furnace, the raw materials were processed. Iron ore was converted
into sinter or pellet and coking coal was converted into coke. The HIsarna technology eliminated
these processes and enabled fine iron ore to be fed directly into the plant without any processing
being needed. The raw materials used could be of low quality and could be made of scrap steel.
HIsarna eliminated the pre-processing steps and phased out a complete production stage.
HIsarna consisted of a reactor with temperatures above the melting point of iron throughout the
vessel. The iron ore was melted and converted into liquid iron. Pulverized iron ore, coal dust, and
oxygen were introduced into the CCF where the ore partially reduced and melted and dripped into
the bottom of the vessel. At this point powdered coal was injected, causing the oxygen from the
iron to bind with carbon, creating pure liquid iron which was tapped. The CO that was formed
created hot gases that provided heat for the reaction occurring in the CCF.
The process did not require coke, sinter, or pellets and it was 30% more energy efficient and 2%
less CO2 intensive. Experts said that the impact of HIsarna could be similar to that of continuous
casting during the 20th century, which made processes like ingot casting and rolling redundant.
HIsarna produced almost pure CO2 and the gas was suitable for capture, storage, and use.
Capturing could lead to total CO2 reduction of 80% from steel production and a substantial
reduction in emissions of particles and reduction of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. HIsarna
could use coal, biomass, or natural gas, which made it environment friendly.

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 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

EXPERIMENT WITH HISARNA

The IJmuiden, based in Velsen-Noord, the Netherlands, was founded in 1918 and became a part of
Tata Steel after the acquisition of Corus. It employed around 9000 people and produced 7 million
tons of steel annually. As a part of the ULCOS project, Tata Steel built the HIsarna pilot plant in
2010. The € 20 million plant was funded jointly by ULCOS, the European Commission, and the
Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The process of testing HIsarna was done in different phases beginning 2011. The project team was
led by Koen Meijer of Tata Steel and had members from Tata Steel Engineering, Tata Steel
Research, Rio Tinto, and ULCOS. (Refer to Exhibit V for different campaigns)
Campaign A – Feasibility of the New Process
The fist campaign was carried out between April and June 2011. Its objective was to show that liquid
iron could be produced without prior processing of the raw materials. It also included hot
commissioning of all the pilot plant systems; investigation and development of safe and reliable start-
up procedures; shut down procedures; and identification of necessary modification for the next phases.
For this purpose, Tata Steel signed a licensing agreement with Rio Tinto. As per the agreement
both the companies decided to work together and share the knowledge of their technologies to
come up with a new process. The process used CCF and HIsmelt. The combination of these
technologies was expected to lead to a reduction in the emission of CO2 and allow lower cost raw
materials and feeds to be used. It was also expected to result in eliminating a few stages in the
ironmaking process. (Refer to Exhibit VI for conventional steel making Vs. HIsarna)
The agreement also dealt with the benefits of the technology in the future and how it would be
made available to the members of ULCOS. The agreement assigned Rio Tinto the exclusive
marketing rights to promote HIsarna as a complete technology package to the steel industry. The
MD and CEO of Tata Steel in Europe, Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler (Köhler), said, “Commissioning of
the HIsarna pilot plant represents a potentially key step towards a compact and low-cost
ironmaking process with a significantly reduced environmental impact. The plant demonstrates
one of the first and most promising ways in which the European steel industry is developing
breakthrough technologies in response to the challenge of climate change.”7
The first experiment failed and called for various improvements. This was followed by three
successful startups. By the end of the phase 60% of the design capacity was achieved. The
engineers succeeded in producing liquid iron and the first metal was tapped on May 20, 2011. This
showed that the plant using the new technology was not merely theoretical but could be operated
in practice. In the first campaign itself the Carbon and capture and storage (CCS) was tested8. Gas
utilization was at 78% as against the target of 85%.
After this campaign several improvements were made to the pilot plant and the operating procedures.
Campaign B – Stable Process
The second test campaign was conducted between October 17 and December 4, 2012. The
objective was to produce liquid iron for a longer, sustained period of 8 to 12 hours. On starting the
second campaign, Köhler said, “We at Tata Steel are very proud of the HIsarna project. If it
succeeds, in the future, the steel industry will be able to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from
iron making. HIsarna is living proof of European steelmakers’ commitment to help create a more
sustainable society by identifying and developing innovative technological solutions.”9

7
“Tata Steel and Rio Tinto sign agreement on HIsarna,” www.tatasteel.com, April 20, 2011.
8
CCS is the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide from a large point source. It prevents large amounts
of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.
9
Second ULCOS HIsarna campaign begins at Tata Steel in Ijmuiden, www.tata.com, October 04, 2012.

7
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

This phase looked at eliminating possible bottlenecks and also investigated refractory wear. The
target for this campaign was to maintain 80% design capacity. The process started with heating the
furnace to the right temperature and then making liquid iron using the technology.
In the last week of the campaign the target of 8 tons / hour design capacity was achieved. All the
main process parameters including metal composition, temperature, gas utilization, and heat loss
were within the expected range.
Campaign C – Producing Liquid Iron for Sustained Periods
The third campaign was carried out from May 28 to June 28, 2013. The main objective of this
campaign was to produce liquid iron for long periods and carry on trials using different raw
materials. During this phase information about future scale up work was gathered. Investigation
was done about the primary raw materials and their flexibility. The objective was to increase the
production rate and maintain stable conditions for more than 12 hours. Primary raw materials like
high-grade hematite ores of different sizes and low grade ironstone ore were used. During this
phase for the first time commercial grade steel was made from HIsarna. The iron was also
produced for continuous periods lasting two to three days.
Campaign D – Sustained Production
The fourth campaign has run from May 13 to June 29, 2014. This aimed to produce liquid iron in a
series of production runs each lasting several days. During this stage different types of coal and
iron ore were also tested.
Campaign E – Six Month Sustained Campaign
This phase was started in October 2017. Before this process started, installation and overhaul of
the new off-gas duct was carried out. A coal grinding, drying, and screening facility for ore and
lime was constructed. The raw material storage capacity was increased, a gas analysis lab was
constructed, and an electronic monitoring system was reprogrammed. For six months tests were
done using steel scrap. The results showed that up to 53% of material used in the process could
be scrap.
The concentration then shifted to identifying the ideal raw material mix, looking for options to
recycle steel slag, testing the use of CO2 to inject raw materials, and checking whether CO2 could
be captured and stored, which would result in reducing the emissions by 80%.
Campaign F – Integration with CO2 Capture
This was the final phase of the campaign. In this phase, steel scrap and biomass were used and
CO2 reduction of more than 50% was achieved. According to Hans Fischer, “HIsarna’s results
show we can make a significant contribution to improving the sustainability of steel production
with this Tata Steel technology. The development of this technology forges our ambition to become
a steel company which is sustainable in all respects.”10 After the successful test runs, the
commercialization of the technology was expected to take place by 2020.

THE GAME CHANGER

HIsarna was expected to become a game changer that significantly improved the sustainability
performance of steel production. Steel companies and scientists from all over the world took a
keen interest in the development of HIsarna, and touted it as a revolutionary innovation that had
eliminated 2 out of the 3 process steps for iron making. It was seen as a solution to high energy use
and CO2 emissions.

10
“Tata Steel’s HIsarna Technology Exceeds Expectations in Sustainable Steel Production,” Steel News
September 07, 2018.

8
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

In the conventional blast furnace, the raw materials iron ore and metallurgical coal needed to be
pre-processed into lumps of iron ore – sinter and small balls – pellets, and cokes11. In the HIsarna
process, there was no need to pre-process the ore and the raw material could be injected as
powders to be directly converted into liquid iron. Coking plants, sinter plants, and pellet plants
could be phased out. This saved huge amounts of energy, was good for the environment, and also
lowered manufacturing costs.
Carbon dioxide emissions went down by 20%. The HIsarna process produced CO2 that was 100%
pure and it could be either captured or stored immediately. This eliminated the expensive gas
separation process completely. If this strategy was adopted, a combination of HIsarna with storage
could lead to CO2 savings of 80% from the steel production process. Apart from CO2, several other
steel by-products could be reused and emissions of fine particles, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen
oxide would be reduced by 60% to 80%, which made steel manufacturing a closed loop. (Refer to
Exhibit VII for HIsarna with Carbon Capture).
The benefits of the process were manifold. The need to preprocess the ores was eliminated and the
use of metallurgical coal was done away with. Instead, steam coals and high ash coals could be
used. This enabled the use of a wide range of ore and coal qualities, allowing production of high-
quality steel using cheaper and widely available raw materials. It also lowered operational and
capital sustaining costs. This meant more recycled steel being used in the steel making process. It
was reported that further improvements in the process would help in recovering zinc from the
coated steel scrap. Thus, HIsarna was expected to play a pivotal role in meeting the recycling goals
of the circular economy through its ability to combine primary steel making with recycling.
By 2017, € 75 million had been invested in developing HIsarna technology. The partner companies
funded 60% of it while 40% came from the European Union, the Dutch Economics Ministry. and
the European Research Fund for coal and steel. In 2017, Tata Steel obtained the IP rights from Rio
Tinto. Thus, Tata Steel owned all the IPs for HIsarna.

LOOKING AHEAD

The main challenge was to develop HIsarna into industrial scale, and transition to suit specific
location size and configuration. After successful runs, the designing of the HIsarna industrial plant
began. The plant was two to three times the size of the existing plant and could make ten times
more liquid iron. This called for investments of up to € 300 million and needed the support of
governments across the European Union. Even after completion, the HIsarna process had to be
tested for several years before it could start producing steel commercially.
However, the potential of HIsarna in the EU steel sector could be limited, as any increase in steel
consumption in the region was projected to be marginal, and could be met by the existing blast
furnaces. The cost of the HIsarna was about 50% of the cost of a blast furnace.
Another challenge would be to scale up the technology successfully so that steel companies across
the world would adopt it. This would help them dispense with pre-processing of raw materials,
have a wider choice of raw materials and recycled materials, and reduce CO2 emissions. Done on a
larger scale, the benefits from the adoption of this technology would be innumerable and could
deliver greater environmental and economic sustainability. This would also help in the European
industry’s move toward a low-carbon economy and the European Commission’s ambitious agenda
to transform the EU economy into a circular economy, where the value of products and materials
was maintained for as long as possible.

11
The two raw material processing stages in the blast furnace – coking the production of coal from coal and
sintering which referred to agglomeration of iron ore.

9
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

Exhibit I:
Tata Steel – Global Presence

Source: www.tatasteel.com

Exhibit II:
Tata Group – IJmuiden Plant

Source: Presentation by Tata Steel, Europe

10
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

Exhibit III:
CO2 Emissions and Energy Consumption Per ton of Crude Steel 1960-2014

Presentation by EUROFER

Exhibit IV:
HIsarna

Source: Tata Steel

11
 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

Exhibit V:
HIsarna Process – Key Development Achievements
Year Campaigns Major Achievements
2011 Campaign A  Feasibility of the new process
 First hot metal tap (May 2011)
2012 Campaign B  First long operating period achieved
 Use standard raw materials
 80% productivity target reached
2013 Campaign C  Use of steam coal (23%VM)
 Use of Low grade ore (<30% Fe)
 First hot metal delivered to the BOF plant
 Achieve good plant availability
 Productivity target reached
2014 Campaign D  30% of hot metal produced made into steel
 Use of high volatile steam coal (39% VM)
 Use of high Zn waste oxides
 Use of scrap and ore concurrently
 Target coal consumption achieved
2015-2017  Major plant upgrade (€25 million investment)
2017 Campaign E  Start of endurance test (Sept. 2017)
Source: Presentation by Tata Steel Europe

Exhibit VI:
Conventional Steel Making Vs HIsarna

Source: Presentation by Tata Steel Europe

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 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

EXHIBIT VII:
HISARNA WITH CARBON CAPTURE

Source: Tata Steel Presentation

Suggested Readings and References

Presentations
1. Jan van der Stel, Koen Meijer, Stanley Santos, Tim Peeters, “HIsarna, An Opportunity for
Reducing CO2 Emissions from Steel Industry,” CATO Meets the Projects, November 15,
2017
2. Dr. Wim van der Meer, HIsarna – Low CO2 Ironmaking Opportunity, Tata Steel, March
16, 2017
3. Innovative ironmaking technology for a - low Carbon - and - Resource Efficient - future of
the European Steel Sector, https://ec.europa.eu, May 20, 2015
4. Tim Peters, “HIsarna, a Revolution in Steelmaking,” CEPS Meeting, Brussels, June 21, 2013
5. Koen Meijer, Christiaan Zeilstra, “Development of the HIsarna Process, Alternative
Ironmaking Technology with CO2 Capture Potential, Industry CCS Workshop, VDEh,
Düsseldorf, November 8-9, 2011
6. HIsarna: Game Changer in the Steel Industry, www.tatasteel.nl
Articles
1. Tata Steel celebrates its 100 years in the Netherlands , www.democratic accent.com,
September 20, 2018
2. Tata Steel Announces New Technology that Could Halve Emissions from Steel Production,
www.steelvia.com, September 11, 2018

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 HIsarna – Developing a Sustainable Steel Production Process

3. Tata Steel reveals HIsarna technology to tackle environmental concerns in the steel
industry, https://commodityinside.com, September 10, 2018
4. Tata Steel unveils technology that could halve emissions from steel production,
www.edie.net, September 07, 2018
5. Tata Steel’s HIsarna technology exceeds expectations in sustainable steel production, Steel
News, September 07, 2018
6. Tata Steel unveils sustainable steel production technology in Europe, economictimes.
indiatimes.com, September 06, 2018
7. Ramon Burns, HIsarna process for ironmaking, www.steel-360.com, April 20, 2018
8. Tata Steel Limited named among 2017 Steel Sustainability Champions, www.tatasteel.
com, April 11, 2018
9. Tata Steel strengthens position in low-carbon future technology, www.tatasteeleurope.com
October 11, 2017
10. Martin Grolms Tata Steel announce major solar project, www.advancedsciencenews.com,
December 21, 2015
11. Lucy Dixon, Tata Steel Announces Carbon Reduction Project, www.manufacturingglobal.
com, November 02, 2015
12. Bhavani Balakrishna, “HIsarna: Potential ‘Game-Changer’ of the Steel Industry, The
Masterbuilder, April 2015
13. B.Balakrishna: HISARNA: Potential Game-Changer of the Steel Industry, The
Masterbuilder, April 2014
14. T.Peeters: HIsarna, a Revolution in steelmaking, TATA Steel, February 25, 2013
15. Arindam Sinha, HIsarna holds big hope for green, low-cost iron making: Tata Steel,
www.indianexpress.com, November 23, 2012
16. Second ULCOS HIsarna campaign begins at Tata Steel in Ijmuiden, www.tata.com,
October 04, 2012
17. Tata Steel and Rio Tinto sign agreement on HIsarna , www.tatasteel.com, April 20, 2011
18. Annual Reports, Tata Steel.
19. www.tatasteel.com
20. www.tatasteel.eu
21. https://ec.europa.eu

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