High-temperature industrial processes remain among the toughest nuts to crack in the decarbonization race. The steel and metals industries, which account for a significant share of global emissions, have long relied on fossil fuels to generate the extreme heat needed for production, with the unwanted side effect of producing substantial CO2 emissions. But now, an exciting new partnership between Tenova and Finnish tech company Coolbrook is poised to change this by using electricity instead of natural gas to drive the furnaces.

At the heart of this transformation is Coolbrook's RotoDynamic Heater™ (RDH™), a novel turbine-based technology that can reach scorching temperatures of up to 1,700° C using only clean electricity. When powered by renewable energy, RDH™ offers promises to eliminate CO₂ emissions from some of the most energy-hungry industrial applications. It's a promising move forward for an industry long criticized for its environmental impact.

"Our partnership with Tenova is a significant step in advancing industrial electrification and accelerating the transition to clean energy," says Joona Rauramo, CEO of Coolbrook. "By integrating our RDH technology with Tenova's innovative solutions, we can develop joint offerings to decarbonize highly challenging applications that have previously been impossible to electrify."

To appreciate the scale of this opportunity, consider that traditional pickling processes in steel production generate thousands of tons of waste acid each year. Treating this waste acid with conventional natural gas systems, an Acid Regeneration Plant emits, in average, around 10,560 tons of CO₂ annually, roughly the same as driving 88 million kilometers by car. Another way of looking at it is that it's equivalent to taking nearly 6,000 petrol-fueled vehicles off the road yearly.

Coolbrook's RDH™ can deliver the same thermal results without burning a cubic meter of gas. And in mining operations like magnesium oxide production, the impact could be even greater: one large-scale plant alone could cut emissions by 31,700 tons per year, comparable to replacing 17,600 combustion-engine vehicles with electric ones.

It's not just about emissions. From a cost perspective, electric heating is proving more attractive than other low-carbon alternatives like green hydrogen or carbon capture, both of which are still complex and expensive. The key metric here is the Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH), which factors in capital expenditures, operational costs, energy efficiency, and lifetime performance. According to Tenova's internal analysis, electrification clearly outperforms all other contenders when it comes to LCOH, making it both a sustainable and financially smart choice.

So how does it work? The RDH™ system replaces traditional fossil-fueled burners with a high-efficiency turbine that compresses air to generate extreme heat. This air is then delivered directly into the process chamber, eliminating the need for combustion. In Tenova's acid regeneration plants, the central reactor—which is essentially a massive vertical cylinder up to 30 meters high—currently uses up to nine natural gas burners. The plan is to replace all of them with a single, precision-controlled RDH™ unit.

"For us, the question was: how do we get rid of natural gas?" recalls Gregor Kappacher, Project Director at Tenova in Austria. "We looked at hydrogen, but unless it's green hydrogen, you're still producing CO₂. Plus, it's expensive. Electrification was the logical answer. We just needed a way to hit the high temperatures we rely on—above 1,200 degrees—and that's where Coolbrook came in".

Kappacher explains that finding Coolbrook was a turning point. "We've spent the last year and a half working on the technical integration. The fact that they could match our thermal requirements with a purely electric system was a big deal. Once we confirmed the feasibility, we knew we had to move forward."

What makes this collaboration stand out is not just the technology but the way the two companies have approached it—like a true partnership. "There are other players in the market, but we needed a team that could respond quickly and think creatively," Kappacher says. "From day one, Coolbrook showed they had the flexibility and expertise we were looking for."

The initial focus is on acid regeneration plants, but the long-term vision is much broader. "This isn't just about one product line," says Antonio Catalano, Executive Vice President of the Tenova Downstream Business Unit. "By replacing fossil fuels with renewable electricity, we're not only cutting emissions, we're also improving process efficiency and reducing costs. It's cleaner, faster, and more effective. This collaboration is an excellent example of how innovation can drive both sustainability and operational excellence."

The companies are currently preparing for the first pilot installation. "We've already started talking with one of our key customers about implementing the RDH™ at their plant," Kappacher reveals. "The response has been very positive. Once we prove the concept under real-world conditions, scaling it to other applications will be much easier."

Tenova sees this as just the beginning. "We're starting with one of the most challenging high-temperature processes out there," shares Kappacher. "If Coolbrook can handle that, then applying the same technology to lower-temperature operations will be even more straightforward. This could eventually reshape how we approach heating across the entire company."

Coolbrook shares this optimistic outlook. "This partnership is about more than just two companies," enthuses Rauramo. "We're building a collaborative ecosystem around RDH™ to ensure its rapid industrial adoption. Our goal is to make this a new industry standard by 2030."

For Tenova, this isn't a one-off initiative. The company has long prioritized sustainability and innovation, continually investing in new technologies to support the energy transition. With hydrogen-ready furnaces, waste heat recovery systems, and the latest developments in electrifying process heating, the company is positioning itself as a leader in the green industrial revolution.

"This project shows that even a relatively small team like ours in Vienna can drive major innovation," says Kappacher. "It's about daring to take the first step—and showing the rest of the industry what's possible." As the industry continues to explore the best ways of achieving net-zero targets, partnerships like the one between Tenova and Coolbrook offer a practical, scalable path forward. "If every company follows our approach and makes its contribution, however small, the overall result will have a decisive impact on our future," finishes Kappacher.