In order to heat steel without CO2 emissions in the future, the burner technology of at least some of the furnaces currently in use will be converted from natural gas to hydrogen combustion. The effect of the changed process gas on the furnace lining, temperature uniformity (TUS) and scale formation is being investigated in an EU-funded HYDREAMS project, among others.

A low-alloyed hot-work tool steel 1.2322, an alloyed hot-work tool steel 1.2344/H13 and a ledeburitic cold-work tool steel 1.2379 were investigated, each with natural gas/air and hydrogen/air heating.

Initial results from laboratory tests carried out at the University of Graz on tool steel samples from the Swiss Steel Group show that the qualitative formation of the scale layers does not change when the process gas is changed, but that there are significant differences in the kinetics. . When steel is heated using hydrogen instead of natural gas, a significant increase in scaling is to be expected.