HEPHAESTUS PROJECT
AIT Europa Engineering
Partner of the Hephaestus Project
The Hephaestus project, with an expenditure budget of approximately Euro 12M, obtained a non-repayable loan of approximately Euro 8M from the HORIZON-CL4-2021-TWIN-TRANSITION-01 program of the European Commission.
AIT Europa Engineering
our eco-sustainable projects
The HEPHAESTUS Project
In summary
The HEPHAESTUS project is built around a key and general objective:
Develop a set of scalable and tunable unit operations, to be built as an integrated treatment plant, characterized by the ability to treat multiple process wastes deriving from primary mineral and metallurgical flows (primary and secondary). The operations of the unit are: Cleantech electric furnace, to transform EAFD and AOD powders into metal alloys to be remelted immediately, a process supported by flows of fine by-products of primary mineral extractions (construction, aggregates and dimensional stone); EZINEX process, to extract the zinc present in oven powders; Drawing of fibers, for the production of mineral wool starting from the process slag in the molten state; Catalytic conversion of CO2 gas into methanol or formic acid; Hydrometallurgical processes based on ammonia-ammonium carbonate (AAC) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA), to produce a recyclable Fe-rich residue and to recover metals (eg ZnO) from EAF Dusts.
The project is mainly aimed at small-scale applications (order of magnitude 10,000 tons of waste dust per year), to cope with the typically fragmented dimensions of European processes. This scale corresponds to the volumes of waste and differentiation and guarantees positive environmental and economic sustainability through the enhancement of different flows of by-products at low operating and capital costs, guaranteeing broad replicability and a short ROI. The project will be demonstrated in two pilot applications, in Greece and Italy, with the aim of creating awareness of the business potential and creating the conditions for long-term exploitation, leading to a significant reduction in waste for the extractive and steel industries.
The Hephaestus project will start in spring 2022 and end in 2026.
The following European companies and institutions participate in the project:
1 RINA CONSULTING SPA IT
2 RINA CONSULTING - MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER SPA Italy
3 NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS - NTUA EL
4 GENIKI METALLEUTIKI KAI METALLOURGIKI ANONYMOUS ETAIRIA -
5 ADVANCED MINERALS AND RECYCLING INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS IKE EL
6 MYTILINAIOS ANONYMOUS ETAIREIA Greece
7 KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN BE
8 AIT Europa Engineering S.r.l. IT
9 ENGITEC TECHNOLOGIES IT
10 SPECIAL STEELS TERNI SPA Italy
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