RedOxid

The Bremen steelworks is currently responsible for around half of Bremen's total CO₂ emissions. However, the planned conversion to a hydrogen-based production process has been postponed due to the high expected operating costs. This is increasing the demand for alternative, climate-friendly ways of producing iron from iron ore – because the demand for steel will remain unbroken in the future.

One promising option is the electrochemical direct reduction of iron oxide or iron ore to iron. In our project, we are researching this process using caustic soda (NaOH) as the electrolyte at temperatures between 80 and 120 °C. Iron oxide is suspended in the electrolyte and reduced directly to metallic iron through contact with the cathode.

Our focus is on investigating the underlying mechanisms and reaction kinetics. At the same time, the scalability of the process plays a decisive role, as our long-term goal is to set up a pilot plant that can pave the way for industrial implementation.