FINAST & CO2-NiCE Mini-Courses

Join the FINAST and CO2-NiCE projects on 13 October 2026 for a full day of mini-courses exploring carbon-neutral production, sustainable steelmaking, hydrogen technologies, biochar applications, and material performance. The event will be offered in a hybrid format, allowing participants to attend either online or at LTU Campus Luleå.

The links to join the event will be published approximately one week before the event date.

Mini-Course Programme

📅 13 October 2026
🕘 09:00–16:45
📍 Room A3024 LTU Campus Luleå or Online

🌱 MINI-COURSE 1 – System Analysis & Biocarbon Value Chains

Industrial Symbiosis & Fossil-Free Value Chains
🕒 09:15–09:45
🎤 Erland Nylund

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Sweden is currently transitioning toward fossil-free steel production by eliminating fossil fuels from both ironmaking and steelmaking processes. This transformation is being driven by technologies such as hydrogen-based iron reduction and the use of metallurgical biocarbon materials. This mini-course will explore the practical challenges associated with introducing biogenic carbon into the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) process, provide an outlook on the evolving raw material mix expected in Swedish steelmaking, and discuss the implications of these changes for metallurgical operations and process performance.

Biomass Resources, Biochar Production & Availability
🕒 09:45–10:15
🎤 Jim Allansson

In this mini-course, you will learn how the value chain for metallurgical biochar can be designed and optimized. The course explores key aspects of the value chain, including the availability and sourcing of biomass, the optimal location of pyrolysis facilities, opportunities for process integration and their associated benefits, and the ways in which biochar properties can influence value chain performance. The course also provides a brief introduction to the modelling framework used to simulate biochar supply chains. You will learn how this framework can be applied to evaluate and compare future supply chain configurations under different scenarios and conditions. Finally, the course concludes with a discussion of broader implications and potential applications of the modelling framework beyond metallurgical biochar value chains.

☕ Coffee Break
🕒 10:15–10:30

🌿 MINI-COURSE 2 – Biomass & Biochar in Steelmaking

Valorization of Forestry Residues into Biochar for Metallurgical Applications
🕒 10:30–11:00
🎤 Yusuf Tolunay Kilic

This mini-course covers continuous auger reactor pyrolysis of forestry industry residues (e.g., pine bark, spruce bark) for biochar production, focusing on yield, fixed-carbon content, and functionality, with complementary insights into bio-oil composition. Water washing is presented as a post-treatment to selectively remove targeted ash-forming elements and tailor biochar properties for metallurgical use. The session translates laboratory findings into transferable approaches for producing biochar suited to steelmaking and related industrial applications.

Functionality of Biochar in Electric Arc Furnace
🕒 11:00–11:30
🎤 Gangadharan Seenivasan

This course covers the EAF process and the fundamentals of slag–carbon interaction during slag foaming and the parameters that influence it, and further extends to the importance of introducing biochar into the EAF for green steelmaking initiatives. In this context, the utilization of pine bark-based biochar in the EAF—which is charged with Swedish iron ore-based H₂-DRI—is investigated as a means to reduce fossil CO₂ emissions while meeting EAF process requirements, through systematic experimentation on the effects of biochar properties and slag FeO content and basicity (B2) on slag–carbon interaction.

🔥 MINI-COURSE 3 – Hydrogen in Fossil-Free Steel Production

CCUS and Hydrogen in Fossil-Free Steelmaking
🕒 11:30–12:00
🎤 Malin Blomqvist

Mini-course content – TBA

Hydrogen Safety in Industrial Processes
🕒 12:00–12:30
🎤 Lucas Andersson

This course explores numerical modeling of blast effects from hydrogen gas explosions. We will look at Fluid-Structure-Interaction (FSI) in a gas explosion context. Coupling methodologies are then explored and how they affect dynamic loading and structural response of structures subjected to gas explosions. We will look at results from validation studies to explore how these developed models can fit into a risk management context in industrial processes.

🍽️ Lunch Break
🕒 12:30–13:30

🧪 MINI-COURSE 4 – Hydrogen Effects, Microstructure & Performance

Hydrogen Gas Interaction and Influence on Metallic Materials
🕒 13:30–14:00
🎤 Eduard Navalles Martinez

Within this short course, we will go through the risks associated with hydrogen exposure to metallic materials. We will begin by how hydrogen is introduced into steel and different sources. Then, we will introduce the different fundamental interaction between hydrogen and metals, from adsorption to trapping. Finally, we will go through the different types of hydrogen-induced damage, different phenomena, manifestation in metals, mechanisms, methods for studying and analyzing them, and possible strategies for prevention.

Microstructure Evolution in Post-processing Methods
🕒 14:00–14:30
🎤 Patricio Piantanida

This course examines how ultrasonic treatments influence the microstructure and mechanical properties of metals, with a focus on ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM). It explains how these processes enhance hardness, fatigue resistance, and other performance characteristics through modifications to surface microstructure and residual stress states.

The course combines fundamental principles of physical metallurgy with practical surface engineering techniques, offering insight into optimizing material performance for demanding engineering applications. Case studies on high-strength steels and the capabilities of UNSM treatment will be discussed.

☕ Coffee Break
🕒 14:30–14:45

⚙️ MINI-COURSE 5 – Fatigue & Modelling

Surface and Near-Surface Properties of Martensitic Wear-Resistant Steel
🕒 14:45–15:15
🎤 John Joy

This course explores the complete journey of martensitic steel through the hot-rolling and roll-levelling process. You will learn exactly how these hot rolling processes affect the steel's surface and sub-surface. The course will cover manufacturing-induced defects that affect the bendability and wear resistance properties of martensitic steel. Plus, you will gain practical skills to analyze steel samples from different hot rolling stages, helping you track how and why surface defects and properties form during the hot rolling process.

Microstructure and Material Modeling for Welding Simulation of Ultra-High Strength Steels
🕒 15:15–15:45
🎤 Carl Andersson

This mini course introduces microstructure evolution and material modeling in the context of welding simulations of ultra-high-strength steels (UHSS). The course covers thermal modeling of welding processes, how welding thermal cycles influence phase transformations and material behavior, and how these effects can be described and implemented in finite element simulations. Participants will learn how microstructure and material properties can be incorporated into welding simulations to predict microstructural changes and hardness distributions in welded components.

♻️ MINI-COURSE 6 – Recycling, Variability & Validation

Material Validation of Recycled Steels
🕒 15:45–16:15
🎤 Felix Thorgren

This mini course introduces the formability of steel, how it is defined, and what standards are used to relate to that information between actors within the industry. It will then talk about and discuss if these standards are sufficient for the green transition into more recycled steel where the industry won't have as much control in what goes into the steel. How can this be improved and what is “good enough” from an industrial perspective?

Performance-Based Validation Approaches
🕒 16:15–16:45
🎤 Reinol Josef Companero

Mini-course content – TBA