Despite geopolitical challenges and rising energy prices, the Buttrio-based Danieli Group, a leading force in the Italian steel industry, managed to achieve impressive financial results. This success is due to the combination of two far-sighted strategies: the continuous development of technological innovation and a peculiar attention to sustainability, a growing concern in the steel industry. As the global public opinion realizes more and more the urgent need of addressing global change, operators in the steel market started to realize the need of steel plants that used modern technology to reduce emissions.

The Danieli Group was one of the first companies to meet this demand, relying in particular to its “pillars”: Digimelter, MIDA, Danieli Universal Endless (DUE), and Energiron DRI, four technologies that set Danieli apart from the competition. In particular the Digimelter, a sophisticated technique that was developed with the help of machine learning and neural networks, represents one of the most significant developments in the field of scrap metal recovery in the last century. Since scrap metal is more sustainable than ore-metal, Digimelter allowed for an impressive reduction of polluting emissions in many phases of the productive process.

Thanks to the Q-One technology, the Digimelter can be connected directly with solar panels, further increasing its environmental-friendly nature. Danieli Group’s innovations have met a significant appreciation in China, India and other East-Asian countries, that are currently trying to reduce the carbon footprint of their industries. In Europe, which is investing significant resources in decarbonization, the Group’s innovations are also very well received. But the company is still pushing towards even more sustainable technologies, and is currently experimenting new ways to use hydrogen as a substitute for natural gas. For instance, the HBIS DRI plant in China relies on hydrogen for about 60% of its operations, thanks to the Energiron technology (another signature development of the Danieli Group).