The MECALO project has reached a significant milestone with its inaugural article, written by coordinator Halvor Dalaker. This article highlights the project’s groundbreaking strategy for decarbonizing metal production, with a particular emphasis on essential raw materials such as silicon and manganese.
Metal production is responsible for approximately 10% of global CO2 emissions. As demand continues to grow, MECALO is committed to creating a carbon-neutral process that utilizes renewable hydrogen and carbon looping, which will greatly diminish fossil CO2 emissions.
In contrast to conventional methods, Mecalo’s strategy captures carbon from furnace off-gases, transforms it into solid carbon feedstock, and reintroduces it into the metal production process. This four-step method – methanation, plasmalysis, agglomeration and metal production – successfully eliminates CO2 emissions while ensuring process efficiency.
If successful, MECALO could allow Europe to produce as much as 86% of its silicon and 50% of its manganese with nearly zero CO2 emissions by 2050. This would help prevent more than 33 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and decrease coal imports.
Read the full article to learn how Mecalo is revolutionizing metal production. This article will also appear in the 21st edition of our quarterly publication.
This project has been funded by the European Union’s HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions under Grant Agreement No. 101177480. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA).