Consortium

Fraunhofer IZFP, one of the institues of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung will coordinate DiGreeS. Fraunhofer IZFP is an internationally renowned research and development institute for applied, industry-oriented research with headquarters in Saarbrücken. The institute's activities focus on the development of intelligent sensor and data systems for safety, sustainability and efficiency. The results of its R&D work are used in business and industry. The scientific-technological solutions support science and industry and at the same time contribute to shaping our society and our future. In addition to customized sensor systems, sensor data management, data analysis and data value creation with AI and machine learning techniques, the R&D portfolio also includes extensive consulting activities in the field of standardization, among others. The understanding of technical testing and sensor physics is also complemented by technologies and concepts from AI research. The decades-long understanding of applications and processes for materials and the products made from them continues to form a solid basis and provides the impetus for Fraunhofer IZFP's expanded research mission in the future: By adding aspects of digital signal and information processing, novel applications in domains such as critical infrastructure, the food industry, the sustainable circular economy, and resource protection and conservation become possible.

In DiGreeS Fraunhofer IZFP will provide sensor systems based on acoustic emmission which will be integrated in the process line of EAF (UC2) and sensor systems for the quality inspection of the steel sheets (UC3) and will contribute to the integration of these sensor systems in the operational environment of the UC2 and UC3. Moreover Fraunhofer IZFP will be involved in the development of data dictionaries and data ontologies.

K1-MET is one of the leading and internationally renowned metallurgical competence center specialized in the fields of metallurgical efficiency and circularity, decarbonization and sector coupling as well as simulation and data analysis. Our efforts aim to increase process efficiency and strengthen circularity in metallurgy, advance the decarbonization of the metallurgical industry, and generate and utilize metallurgical process knowledge through digital technologies. This mission is achieved through cooperative research with national and international partners from the metallurgical sector. As an Austrian research facility, K1-MET has offices in Linz and Leoben, with headquarters in Linz, and employs about 90 people, most of whom are researchers.
Within DeGreeS, K1-MET will be responsible for requirement analysis for all proposed use cases, data processing, visualization as well as model development, especially for the scrap characterization and the EAF process optimization use case.

The HUN-REN SZTAKI is a research institute, governed by the Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN). SZTAKI is the acronym of the Hungarian name of the institute, while its full English name is “Institute for Computer Science and Control“. The institute was founded in 1964. Its staff consists of more than 300 full-time employees, more than 200 with university diploma and more than 70 with scientific degrees. The fundamental task of the institute is to perform basic and application-oriented research in an interdisciplinary setting in the fields of computer science, engineering, information technology, intelligent systems, process control, wide-area networking and multimedia. Contract-based target research, development, training and expert support for domestic and foreign industrial, governmental and other partners are important activities at the institute. The mission of HUN-REN SZTAKI includes the transfer of up-to-date research results and state-of-the-art technology to university students. The institute is very active in graduate and postgraduate education, co-operating with most technical universities in Hungary and operating common chairs, postgraduate programs with them. More than 40 members of the institute’s researchers conduct regular lectures/classes at graduate and postgraduate levels, and senior researchers hold part-time positions as university professors. 20 to 30 Ph.D. students and 20 to 30 graduate students participate in the work of the institute. The primary domains of applied research and development at HUN-REN SZTAKI encompass computer science, systems and control theory, engineering, and business intelligence, in addition to machine perception and human-computer interaction. The R&D activities at HUN-REN SZTAKI are concentrated on the following areas: vehicles and transportation systems, production informatics and logistics, energy and sustainable development, security and surveillance, as well as networks, distributed computing, networking systems, and services.

VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH (BFI) is a non-profit research institute located in Düsseldorf, Germany. BFI conducts applied research and develops innovative solutions for the process industry, with a strong focus on the steel industry. The institute addresses emerging issues of major industrial relevance in areas such as “energy efficiency and CO₂-reduction“, “process and process chain optimization“, “Circular Economy“ as well as “Industry 4.0 and sensor developments““ and makes them the focus of research and development work. The staff of around 100 people is organised in seven scientific departments and works in close and interdisciplinary cooperation on the above-mentioned four thematic topics. 70 % of the staff are scientists and engineers who guarantee, together with technicians and administrative staff, a high level of research quality and project performance. Nearly all projects end with practically implemented solutions of research results. Scientific results are presented regularly in scientific papers and contributions to conferences. In DiGreeS, the BFI departments “Measurement and Automation Steelmaking“ and “Quality Technologies and Automation“ are involved. They will adapt, extend and apply process models, embedded in a Digital Twin architecture, for monitoring and predictive control of the EAF. Furthermore, they will develop an imaging system for in-line scrap characterization.

Tata Steel Netherlands is one of the largest steel producers in Europe. We supply high-grade steel products to demanding sectors all over the world. Our steel is indispensable in construction, the automotive industry, the packaging sector and for producers of industrial machines. In this context, the Research and Development department is an important part of the company. In close cooperation with our customers, we produce new steel products that help them stand out from competition. We use advanced digital technologies to continuously look for ways to improve our products. Tata Steel Netherlands comprises two Business Units: Tata Steel IJmuiden and Tata Steel Downstream Europe. We have branches in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and other parts of Europe. Tata Steel has a global network of sales offices. Tata Steel Netherlands is part of the Indian Tata Steel company.

Saarstahl is a company with worldwide operations and which keeps the entire value chain in mind with respect to production. Our services are always tailored to the requirements of our customers. Long products from Saarstahl can be found wherever especially high requirements are placed on quality, load-bearing capacity and reliability: in the latest applications in electric mobility or track systems for high-speed trains, in wind turbines, power plants, ships and bridges, and in construction systems, mechanical engineering and production plants. Our product portfolio includes the manufacture of wire rod, bar steel and semi-finished products in a variety of qualities and for a wide range of technical applications. The product range also includes drawn wire, bright steel, high-quality open-die forged components and rail products.

Production facilities include a LD steelmaking plant, a rolling mill and a forge at the Völklingen site, and a rolling mill at the Neunkirchen site as well as at the Burbach site. The Group also has production sites in France, including the Saarstahl Ascoval electric steel plant in Saint-Saulve. This has already enabled us to offer our customers highly carbon-reduced steel.

The voestalpine Steel & Service Center Group is the center of competence for the preprocessing of high-quality steel strip and heavy plates in the voestalpine Steel Division. Maximum security of supply, our dedication to delivery deadlines and our proximity to the customer mean a lot to us: The headquarters of the voestalpine Steel & Service Center Group is located right alongside one of the most modern steel mills of Europe, voestalpine Stahl GmbH, in Linz Austria. As a plant-based SSC group within the voestalpine Steel Division, voestalpine Steel & Service Center GmbH in Linz processes more than 2 million tons of steel strip and heavy plates per year into the following products: slit strips, cut sheets, blanks and flame cuttings. Being close to the integrated steelmaking plant in the Steel Division, we have unlimited access to unique product and material expertise and can provide answers to the most difficult questions. In addition, all of our products are available in a CO₂-reduced greentec steel version to take an innovative step towards net zero CO₂ emissions while maintaining the highest voestalpine quality. Further production locations for optimized proximity to our customers are in Tychy in Poland, Giurgiu in Romania and our subsidiaries in Cittadella, Italy.

Fraunhofer Austria was founded at the end of 2008 as a foreign subsidiary of the german Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. In the business units “Factory Planning and Production Management“, “Logistics and Supply Chain Management“, and “Industrial Engineering and Digitalization“ in Vienna, in the business unit “Visual Computing“ in Graz, and in the two Fraunhofer Innovation Centers “Digital Transformation of Industry“ in Wattens and “Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence KI4LIFE“ in Klagenfurt, around 140 employees are currently working on application-oriented solutions for the benefit of industry and society. Research for practice is the central task of Fraunhofer institutes and affiliates.

SPECTRAL Industries is a high-tech company that develops unique optical sensor systems for non-contact chemical analysis. We apply our very robust and sensitive instrument platform for demanding industrial applications. Applications range from mining to recycling and material processing. SPECTRAL realizes new products by combining academic and practical knowledge and cooperating intensively with high-tech parties around the globe. We focus on realizing unique solutions, where the combination of robustness, mobility and accuracy is of paramount importance.

European Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP), whose membership includes EUROFER (European Steel Association), major plant suppliers, universities, research institutions active in steel research, major users of steel and public bodies, is also facilitating the Clean Steel Partnership (CSP). ESTEP will share the overarching knowledge on the challenges faced by the steel sector to become climate neutral and stay competitive as well as the related technology pathways. ESTEP will also leverage its extended network of partners and collaborators across Europe to conduct cross-fertilization activities and disseminate the results of the project. ESTEP will mainly be involved in supporting the dissemination, communication and exploitation activities.