Project SymbioSteel

The EU Green Deal represents a binding climate law to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Its strategy promotes the sustainable management of materials and resources, aligning with circular economy and industrial symbiosis concepts (coupling of industrial sectors). Industrial symbiosis aims to reduce reliance on critical materials and replace virgin materials, mitigating CO₂ emissions and fostering innovative technologies to convert existing resources into usable forms. Therefore it has big impact on the objectives of research programs, such as the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS, see Figure 1). Over the past few decades, the steel industry has focused on minimizing waste production and reusing waste and by-products as resources, achieving notable results in industrial symbiosis.

In this context, SymbioSteel aims to analyze these achievements in the steel sector, explore new opportunities, and create synergies and networks with other sectors. Moreover, SymbioSteel aims to attract key stakeholders to implement these measures, which will lead to new decision-making approaches and support strategic decisions. SymbioSteel will identify the main drivers, specific barriers, and impacts on companies, the environment, and society, considering both existing and new networks for improved decision-making.

Within the framework of SymbioSteel, the research outcomes will be reviewed, and dissemination strategies will be developed to implement new synergies that address economic, environmental, and societal drivers. SymbioSteel will use these results to promote knowledge exchange and new synergies, accelerating the development of proposed technologies to higher TRL levels. Effective dissemination of the results of the project will aid in implementing innovative solutions and strategies to reduce resource and energy use, along with associated environmental impacts and investment needs.