Study/ Burners: new technologies and hybridisation for decarbonisation
Decarbonizing high-temperature industrial thermal processes represents a major challenge for the energy transition of highly energy-intensive sectors such as the metal, minerals, and chemical industries. These processes, which typically require operating temperatures exceeding 1000 °C, are difficult to decarbonize through direct electrification alone in the short to medium term. In this context, the integration of low-carbon gaseous fuels appears as a complementary and pragmatic pathway to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Low-carbon gaseous fuels - including biomethane, biogas, synthetic natural gas, low-carbon hydrogen, biopropane, renewable dimethyl ether (rDME), decarbonised ammonia, and syngas - are characterized by a reduced carbon footprint over their entire life cycle. Introducing these fuels into existing high-temperature thermal processes raises several technical, safety, and economic challenges, affecting burners, gas installations, furnaces, and regulatory compliance.
This study addresses these issues through two complementary workstreams. The first focuses on the technical feasibility of integrating low-carbon gaseous fuels into existing burner technologies and high-temperature processes. The second evaluates the associated economic impacts through applied techno-economic case studies.
Main objectives are :
- Assess the adaptability of existing industrial burners to the integration of low-carbon gaseous fuels, including a complete switch to these fuels.
- Identify innovative or emerging burner technologies suitable for low-carbon gases, including high substitution rates.
- Analyse the industrial implementation of fuel hybridisation, considering technical, regulatory, and safety aspects.
- Quantify the economic impacts (CAPEX, OPEX, energy costs, carbon costs).
The study is composed of four complementary deliverables:
- A technical analysis report focusing on the technical feasibility of burner hybridisation
- An economic analysis report presenting the results of technical and economic modelling for three sector-specific case studies
- An Excel tool implementing the economic analysis case studies
- A benchmark of burners compatible with carbon-free gases, listing existing or developing solutions, their maturity levels and their areas of application
