The ELECTRA consortium, with €20 million in funding from the EU’s Horizon Europe program, brings together 17 partners from 8 countries across research, technology, and industry to work through that challenge and push these sectors toward more sustainable solutions.

Kanthal’s role in the project focuses on electric gas heating. The aim is to address both direct emissions from fuel combustion and indirect emissions from the calcination process. At the core of this is a key question: can electric systems reach the temperatures required for calcination, typically between 1,200°C and 1,400°C (2,192°F to 2,552°F)?

That work has now moved from design into testing.

Peter Dömstedt, Project Manager at Kanthal R&D, reflects on how the team worked through design adjustments, simulations, and assembly to bring the concept to a point where it could be tested in practice.

Testing the system

The first round of testing was carried out in Kanthal’s lab earlier this year. The setup was intentionally simple, using air rather than a full process environment. The goal at this stage was not to replicate industrial conditions, but to confirm that the system achieved minimum requirements.Peter Dömstedt, Project Manager, Kanthal.

Dömstedt explains how the system is set up and where the main challenge sits:

“The system combines a standard flow heater with a booster section. The flow heater handles preheating, using a well-established technology. We used our Globar® silicon carbide (SiC) heating elements in the booster section, which is designed to reach at least 1,200°C (2,192°F), preferably 1,400°C (2,552°F).”

That booster section was the biggest uncertainty going in. In practice, it was very responsive, reached temperature quickly, and behaved as expected.

“We gradually increased the temperature to 1,000°C (1,832°F), then 1,100°C (2,012°F), and finally 1,200°C (2,192°F), allowing the system to stabilize at each level.”

By the time they reached 1,200°C (2,192°F), the outcome was clear.

“We confirmed that we could operate safely with sufficient headroom up to 1,200°C (2,192°F).”

The additional cooling system was not needed during this phase, though that is expected to change at higher temperatures.

A shift in materials

From the start of the ELECTRA project, one of the biggest technical hurdles has been bringing the heating system into the temperature range needed for calcination. To get there, the team moved away from the metallic elements typically used in gas heating systems and introduced ceramic elements instead.

Dömstedt explains the thinking behind that shift:

“We chose to use Globar® SiC instead of Kanthal® Super molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂) elements that can handle temperatures up to 1,850°C (3,360°F). The decision was mainly practical. Globar® had advantages in terms of shorter delivery time and lower cost.”

At the same time, the design has been kept flexible.

“The system is designed to work with both Globar® and Kanthal® Super elements, depending on the application.”

Moving to the next phase

With internal testing completed, the system is now being prepared for installation at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, where it will be tested under more realistic conditions.

“At VTT, the system will operate with carbon dioxide and will include particles in the gas stream. That will be an important difference to evaluate,” shares Dömstedt.

While the initial results are encouraging, he is clear about where things stand.

“Commercialization is still some years away. Scaling the technology will require further development and redesign. This should be viewed as a feasibility study or pre-study. It is still at an early stage.”

At the same time, the work is already drawing interest beyond the original scope of the project.

“We have received interest from the steel industry, particularly for DRI processes that require temperatures around 1,200°C (2,192°F),” Dömstedt highlights.

From feasibility to direction

The ELECTRA project has never been about a single breakthrough. It brings together partners spanning basic and applied research, technology development, end-user applications, societal sciences, and business development to test, learn, and move solutions closer to real-world use.

This phase does not complete that work, but it does answer one of the key questions the project set out to explore.

Electric gas heating can reach the temperatures required for calcination and other heavy industry processes.

What comes next will depend on continued collaboration across the project, taking what has been proven in testing and developing it into something that can work reliably at scale.