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Cooperative project

with participation of KME

H4Cu - Natural gas substitution by hydrogen in the production of semi-finished copper products

There are a number of technical options for achieving the goal of climate neutrality set by industrial companies, particularly with regard to CO2 emissions. One of these possibilities is the substitution of natural gas with hydrogen as a fuel gas for thermal processes such as the smelting of copper and copper alloys.

Under the project management of Dr Olaf Schwedler (KME), a consortium consisting of three industrial partners (KME, SMS-group, Aurubis) and three institutes (INEMET, IKFVW, IEC) of the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF) is addressing and answering questions relating to the topic of natural gas substitution with hydrogen.

Taking into account ecological, technical and economic aspects, it should be possible to assess at the end of the project (period 1 Sept. 2024 - 31 Aug. 2027) to what extent the use of hydrogen can be transferred to industrial reality, to large-scale plants.