The H2STEEL consortium gathered for its Month 30 General Assembly on 18th-19th March at the Politecnico di Torino. With just six months remaining before the project’s conclusion, this two-day hybrid meeting provided the perfect opportunity to review technical progress, align strategic objectives, and prepare for the upcoming final review meeting.
Key Technical Advances
The partners presented notable progress across all work packages:
- Catalyst Development: The activities is concluded, and significant results were achieved in the development of a biocoal-based catalyst for biomethane pyrolysis and Three families of biobased catalysts were tested, to select the optimized solution for scale-up. Simultaneously, kinetic tests have been conducted to assess the kinetic parameters, and given this information, a simple model of a moving bed reactor was developed, in order to predict conversion in the POC reactor depending on working conditions such as temperature or methane and catalyst flow rates and residence times
- System Design and Testing: Updates included the successful design and building of the project’s proof-of-concept reactor, which is critical for demonstrating the H2STEEL process at pilot scale. The consortium is still in the commissioning phase, due to technical revisions and adjustments.
- Assessment of the H2STEEL Concept: The team shared developments in system-level energy and mass balances, wastewater treatment plant supplier selection, and policy assessments. A detailed case study on Germany highlighted both opportunities and potential barriers for deployment in national and regional contexts, but also other EU countries will be taken into account. Further work is ongoing to develop key indicators and industrial roadmaps.
- Exploitation: Patent landscaping activities have been completed, with a patent application filed in 2024. Market analysis and business model development are also progressing.
Strategic Alignment for the Final Phase
The meeting served as a forum for open discussion on strategic issues essential to the project’s successful completion. Partners reviewed:
- Preparation steps for the final meeting -and the review meeting- and financial reporting
- Upcoming deliverables
- Final meetings and events, including the third Portfolio Meeting and the SUNERGY Workshop in Brussels
Coordination and management updates confirmed that nearly all deliverables and milestones are on track, with final deadlines and review requirements now clearly outlined. A strong emphasis was placed on ensuring full partner engagement for the last phase of the project.