The TEDS24 event, organised by CIC energiGUNE at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Campus, will present new strategies and technological advances towards the decarbonisation of industrial thermal energy

‘Thermal Energy Decarbonization Summit 2024’ will bring together institutional leaders, industry professionals and creators of ideas on the new possibilities of decarbonising thermal energy in industry, especially at medium and high temperatures, on 20 November at the Basque Country Technology Park.

This event is part of the LIFE HI4S project, led by CIC energiGUNE with the participation of ArcelorMittal, Fivemasa, Enerbasque, LifeCycleEngineering-LCE, SDEA Solutions and Azterlan, which aims to build an innovative plant for combined heat and power production from the waste heat contained in the exhaust gases of an electric arc furnace, in order to reduce energy consumption through thermal energy storage technologies and optimisation of the energy balance.

CIC energiGUNE, a leading Basque research centre in electrochemical energy storage and conversion and thermal energy storage and conversion, will be holding the TEDS24 conference on 20 November at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Campus of the Basque Country Technology Park, which will bring together creators of ideas, industry professionals and institutional decision-makers to promote industrial decarbonisation with the aim of meeting the 2030 objectives. The event is part of the LIFE HI4S project, coordinated by CIC energiGUNE and funded by the EU through its LIFE programme.

‘It is a unique opportunity to learn about the latest technological advances, as well as to find out where the market and future strategies will go in the field of decarbonisation of industrial thermal energy, especially at medium and high temperatures’, said Daniel Bielsa, Technology Coordinator at CIC energiGUNE. Attendance at the conference is free of charge, subject to prior registration.

In this regard, the Basque centre has reminded that, in addition to the professional conference, those attending will have the opportunity to visit the ArcelorMittal facilities in Sestao on 21 November, where the LIFE HI4S prototype plant has been built for the combined production of heat and electricity, which allows the steel industry to reduce energy consumption by reusing waste heat from the furnaces.

The TEDS24 programme includes panel discussions, presentations and analysis on policy development and cutting-edge technologies, such as electrification of heat, solar thermal, improved thermal energy quality, waste heat recovery and other novel market opportunities. In addition, there will be a space for presentations of success stories, as well as a visit to the CIC energiGUNE facilities.

Through this event, attendees will not only be able to gain knowledge directly from industry leaders and experts on decarbonisation, but also learn about the most effective tools available and establish contacts with potential partners and solution providers in order to accelerate the pace of their thermal decarbonisation projects.

Coordinated by CIC energiGUNE, the LIFE HI4S consortium includes six other partners: ArcelorMittal, Fivemasa, Enerbasque, LifeCycleEngineering-LCE, SDEA Solutions and Azterlan. As a whole, the project foresees the generation of substantial environmental impacts, such as the reduction of CO2 emissions from the steelworks by 9 Tm/year (which would represent 6% of the total emissions of the steel industry), or the reduction of by-products, black slag, by 560,000 t/year (10-15% of the total generated in the EU). As a consequence, the reduction in energy consumption would mean €200 M/year of emission savings, and the energy recovered (37.5 GWh/year) could mean a saving of 4.9% in the electricity consumption of the electric arc furnace.