Tenova partners with Italian companies on hydrogen project

Tenova, a company specializing in innovative solutions for the metals and mining industry, has announced a collaboration with Italy’s De Nora and Snam on a project to test hybrid heating technologies for steel reheating, HydroNews reports.

The three Italian companies are partners in the European project HyTecHeat, funded by the EU through the Horizon Europe program for €3.3 million, which aims to develop the use of hydrogen-based hybrid technologies for low-carbon steel production.

As part of the project, Tenova will install a hydrogen production and storage system at its site in Castellanza (Varese Province, Italy), which will be used to experimentally refuel H2-ready burners with a mixture of hydrogen and methane. The storage facility will be operated by Snam, and De Nora will provide a 1 MW Dragonfly electrolyzer, the latest generation system used for the first time in the European initiative.

The trials to be conducted by the partners within HyTecHeat will cover all aspects of the value chain, from renewable energy production to green hydrogen production and storage, as well as the integration of the electrolyzer with industrial furnaces, including the control process and safety measures.

«It is very important for Tenova to work with its partners to achieve common decarbonization goals. This project strengthens our efforts to develop an industrial-scale system capable of integrating hydrogen production from renewable sources, its storage and use in combustion processes,» said Roberto Pancaldi, CEO of Tenova.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the European Commission has allocated €402 million in funding for the creation of a green hydrogen hub in the Italian region of Puglia. The Green Valley is to provide 260 MW of solar power generation and 160 MW of electrolysis capacity for hydrogen production near the cities of Brindisi and Taranto.