Ceit leads the transition to sustainable steels with NANO-S-MART project

The European project NANO-S-MART, led by Ceit, seeks to transform the production of martensitic steels, ensuring their sustainability and competitiveness, through the use of low CO2 emission production methods.

With a budget of 3.08 million euros and a four-year duration, NANO-S-MART addresses core topic challenges such as the impact of residual elements in steels, strengthening the commitment to circular Economics and climate neutrality.

The steel industry, manager of 5.7% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, faces the challenge of adapting to the climate targets of the Paris agreement and the European Green Pact. In this context, the need arises to find sustainable solutions that allow the European steel industry to remain competitive while maintaining the commitment to mitigate climate change. In this context, the European project NANO-S-MART, led by the Ceit technology center and funded by the Horizon Europe program, is positioned as an innovative response.

With a budget of 3.08 million euros and a duration of four years, the project seeks to revolutionize the production of martensitic steels through innovative processes that integrate technologies such as direct reduction iron (DRI) and electric arc furnaces (EAF). This approach emphasizes the use of recycled scrap, a resource core topic to reduce emissions, but which introduces residual elements such as copper, tin or phosphorus, which can alter the final properties of the material.

Redesigning martensitic steels for a sustainable future

NANO-S-MART focuses on analyzing and redesigning quenched and tempered martensitic steels. These alloys, essential in sectors such as automotive, construction and defense, play a crucial role in the transition to renewable energies and the move towards climate neutrality in Europe.

Through an approach ranging from the macro scale to the nanostructure of the material, NANO-S-MART develops technical guidelines to ensure that these steels are compatible with cleaner and more sustainable production methods. In addition, it seeks to validate these innovations in real industrial environments, thus ensuring their internship applicability.

Ceit's role

Ceit, as coordinator the project, leads the research related to the relationship between processing parameters and final properties of martensitic steels, a crucial aspect in order to develop optimal processing windows for these products. In addition, Ceit will be manager performing a life cycle analysis of the production processes to evaluate the reduction of CO₂ emissions and ensure the sustainability of the new techniques.

innovative and sustainable approach

In addition to Ceit, NANO-S-MART brings together leading European partners with expertise in different core topic areas, such as OCAS NV, Universitet Gent, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (MPIE). In this way, the project addresses the technical challenges posed by the intensive use of recycled scrap and, at the same time, contributes to the transition towards a circular and sustainable Economics in Europe.