STK0156 – Digital and Green Transformation of Steelmaking – Status and Prospects

Description

Date: 11 November, 2025, 13.00 UTC.

Estimated Time: 1 hr

Language: English

Summary of the lecture

The steel industry stands at the intersection of two defining transformations: decarbonisation and digitalisation. These are not just technological shifts, but also social, economic, and political ones — a bit like performing open-heart surgery while running a marathon.

A few years ago, public discussions painted a simple picture of the future — decarbonisation achieved effortlessly through hydrogen-based direct reduction and electric arc furnaces. In reality, limited energy availability, material costs, and global competitiveness make this journey far more complex.

Similarly, while digitalisation has been discussed for over 30 years, true implementation in steelmaking remains slow. Despite the rise of Industry 4.0 and Artificial Intelligence, most energy-intensive steelmaking processes are still operated manually.

In this steelTalk, Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Hauck, Head of Process Optimisation in Iron and Steelmaking at VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH, will examine the current status of both transitions and explore potential solutions to accelerate progress.

What you will learn:

Assess and explain the main approaches and challenges to decarbonise steelmaking.
Understand the current status and barriers to digitalising the steelmaking process.
Identify opportunities to align digital and green transformation strategies.

Speaker Introduction

Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Hauck
Head of Process Optimisation in Iron and Steelmaking, VDEh-BFI GmbH

Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Hauck is Head of the Process Optimisation in Iron and Steelmaking department at VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH.

With over 26 years of experience in applied research for the iron and steel industry, his work focuses on the exploitation of digitalisation for process optimisation and control. Over the past 15 years, his research has concentrated on decarbonisation, integrating technical, economic, and policy perspectives.

Dr. Hauck has led or contributed to around 30 national and European projects and is actively involved in the Clean Steel Partnership. Among his achievements is the MaxH₂DR project, winner of the Net-Zero Industries Award 2024. His latest project, SUPER, connects decarbonisation with workforce recruitment and skills development.