The Twinghy project team recently gathered in Bilbao for the 5th General Assembly, marking a significant milestone in our journey towards testing hydrogen in steelmaking. The meeting was held in the prestigious Palacio Euskalduna, which provided an inspiring backdrop for our discussions. Here’s a summary of the main discussions and progress made during the meeting: 

This year is pivotal for the installation of 10 new burners, 2 Oxycombustion burners provided by Nippon Gases that will be installed in the Soaking Zone and 8 hybrid burners designed and provided by Fives Stein. The GA has been a good opportunity to present the latest drawings and technical specifications for the burner installation and furnace modifications that will be done in the stoppage of August. In the following months, Celsa, with Fives and Nippon support is doing an assessment of the technical offers to have all the equipment ready in July.  

An important discussion during the two days in Bilbao has been the upcoming tests in the soaking and heating zones, with up to 100% H2. All the tests, with different blends and durations has been explained, but due to lack of hydrogen availability and space limitations, the trials will need to be adapted to the final hydrogen availble. This year will be key to ensure the supply and still working on the trials definition that need to take place in 2026.    

On the other hand, regarding the development of the Digital Twin, BSC, RWTH and SWERIM gave an update on the progress made on the simulations and models. BSC also presented preliminary results on the Digital Twin, with a short demonstration on how the digital tool works. This first version will be integrated in April to Celsa’s system. A workshop was held to discuss potential exploitation activities, and the next steps are to define and monitor these activities in order to exploit the results of the project and ensure their transferability to other industrial settings.  

Special thanks go to Fives Spain for organising this successful meeting in Bilbao. We would also like to acknowledge the strong commitment of all project partners, whose dedication and cooperation were key to the productive discussions and progress made during the meeting. We look forward to continuing our work towards a sustainable future in steel production.  

Stay tuned for further updates!