SECO/VACUUM News

Swedish GreenIron H2 AB and SECO/WARWICK furnaces – a joint opportunity for carbon footprint reduction

SECO/WARWICK has signed a final agreement with GreenIron H2 AB for the delivery of a series of furnaces for processing metals from post-production waste without the use of fossil fuels. The most unique project in the field of green technologies related to metal recycling is entering a decisive phase of functional tests. SECO/WARWICK solutions may change the future face of the metal processing industry.

(Meadville PA, October 18, 2023)

An ecological boost for post-production metal management

The final agreement assumes the delivery of furnaces manufactured by SECO/WARWICK, incorporating the technology developed by GreenIron. They will be used for emission-free recycling of oxidized metals. They will directly contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions on an unprecedented scale – according to data obtained as a result of the tests, each furnace has the ability to reduce emissions by 56,000 tons/year, which corresponds to over 80,000 round-trip flights for one person between London and New York. For comparison, the annual carbon footprint of an average person living in Europe is approximately 8 tons of CO₂.

The pursuit of zero emissions is one of the main pillars for current policy among Western countries. The European Union has been supporting programs that motivate companies to reduce emissions for several years. Last year, the United States has also placed great emphasis on supporting environmental protection. We are talking about the IRA anti-inflation program, the value of which is estimated at several hundred billion dollars, which will provide the support for domestic industries to reduce CO₂ emissions and support sustainable development.

The technology, whose originator and patent rights owner is GreenIron, is a unique solution which will help many enterprises implement “green” solutions and function in harmony with the natural environment.

“The philosophy of reducing emissions is important to us. We try to make our solutions as ecological as possible to support our customers in the changes taking place in heavy industry. We bet on the green color, on wise, ecological innovations which not only protect the planet but also allow us to achieve greater efficiency. Cooperation with GreenIron is a natural way for us to develop this idea. We hope that the new furnaces line will become a new, independent segment in the future. The potential of using these solutions is huge: reduction furnaces will be available to industries that use iron and other metals in production processes - including mining, metallurgy, foundries, the metal processing industry, and incineration plants where production processes produce difficult waste streams requiring storage. Thanks to GreenIron and SECO/WARWICK, this waste will be recycled without the use of fossil fuels and will return to circulation in the economy as green steel or iron,” said Sławomir Woźniak SECO/WARWICK Group CEO.

Valuable resources should not end up in landfills

Currently, much of the primary metal supply is not fully recycled. Conventional reduction processes in current technology usually require a constant oxygen content in a single return material, so waste and residues often end up in landfills. Moreover, conventional iron and steel-making processes are designed typically without consideration of carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, the iron and steel industry is responsible for approximately 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, while the ecological transformation taking place around the world requires an urgent change in technology to one using renewable energy sources.

“Our vision is a closed-loop system where metals never reach an end-of-life point. A world where metals are recycled endlessly without emitting greenhouse gases. The proven GreenIron technology enables metal production from ores and industrial by-products such as slags, filter dust, oxide scale and others. The technology itself is based on a reduction process based on hydrogen. The technology makes the process modular and scalable. The reduction plant can be installed near iron or steel processing plants. Therefore, the need for transport is reduced, which allows for a reduction in energy demand throughout the entire production chain,” explains Edward Murray, GreenIron CEO.

SECO/WARWICK supports ecological solutions, making heavy industry environmentally friendly. The solutions that will be developed in cooperation with GreenIron have not been available on the market before and may potentially constitute a new line of furnaces. Their great value is that they contribute to carbon dioxide reduction, as well as significantly reducing the costs of recycling residues and post-production waste.

The signing of the final agreement with SECO/WARWICK coincided with Sweden taking over the European Union presidency. On this occasion, commemorative coins branded with the SECO/WARWICK and GreenIron logos were made of green steel. This project was unique in terms of commercial readiness and the wide range of minerals that can be processed. This is the announcement of a revolution in the metal processing world that will protect our natural environment.

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About GreenIron:
GreenIron H2 AB is a Swedish, private limited company with a patented and proven, energy-efficient technology for reducing metal oxides to pure metals. The process is suitable for the extraction of metals from ore, residues, and waste. The technology is hydrogen-based and thus the only residual product is water. In connection with steel mills, GreenIron's process can fossil-free convert residual products, such as slag, into usable iron and metal raw materials. Within the mining industry there are also residual products and by-flows, which in the same way can be converted fossil-free into raw materials for smelting directly in steel mills. GreenIron has a strong CO₂-minimizing focus and strives to shape circular business cycles and increased resource efficiency.