Multi-Period Optimization of Hydrogen-Based Steelmaking System: A Rolling-Horizon Approach

Abstract

Under the "Dual-Carbon" targets, hydrogen production powered by renewable energy and hydrogen direct reduction offer approaches to integrating a high proportion of renewable energy and catalyzing the steel industry's transition towards a low-carbon footprint. The hydrogen-based steelmaking system (HBSS) presents a multi-energy interaction, encompassing processes from hydrogen production and ironmaking to the final steelmaking processes. Additionally, the high investment and operational expenses necessitate that decisionmakers prioritize enhancing the system's economic efficiency to ensure its long-term viability and effectiveness. In this study, we first introduced a multiperiod optimization model for HBSS, aiming to reduce the levelized cost of steel (LCOS) from both the investment and operational aspects. Then, the rollinghorizon approach has been used to overcome computational infeasibility for large mixed-integer linear programming problems by solving the problem periodically, including additional information from proximately following periods. We further compared it with the single-period and forward-looking approaches, indicating that the optimal result of LCOS varied from $406 to $520 for the different approaches. It proves that the rolling-horizon approach can lead to an economicsbetter solution than the single-period approach and is only a few percent away from the forward-looking approach.