Novelis, a sustainable aluminium solutions provider, has been awarded EUR 4.6m to establish hydrogen burning trials at its Latchford plant in the UK, according to a news release.
As part of the UK Government’s EUR 55m Industrial Fuel Switching Competition, the EUR 1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, and the wider regional HyNet project.
Novelis joined HyNet in 2017 and has been supporting the development of the regional infrastructure project as well as conducting its own technical feasibility studies on the use of hydrogen as a direct replacement for natural gas.
The Latchford plant will test the use of hydrogen on one of its recycling furnaces in a demonstration phase in 2024.
The trial has been set up in collaboration with Progressive Energy, an independent UK energy company, and requires the installation of new burners and regenerators – both capable of operating with hydrogen or a blended hydrogen/gas input – and replacing the furnace lining material with one suitable for hydrogen.
Depending on the final configuration, replacing natural gas with hydrogen to feed the remelting furnace could reduce CO2eq emissions by up to 90% compared to using the same amount of natural gas.
In addition to its contribution to HyNet, Novelis’ research & development teams worldwide are also investigating the ability to use plasma, electricity, and biomass to power its manufacturing operations.
