The steel industry is a key sector of the European economy but also a major source of CO₂ emissions, driving the need for a systemic transition aligned with the EU Green Deal. SMARTChain, a Horizon Europe project under the Clean Steel Partnership, addresses this challenge by advancing digitalisation across the steel value chain through secure data sharing, interoperability, and AI-driven optimisation. The project develops an interoperable industrial data platform enabling real-time data integration, predictive analytics, and improved process control to enhance quality, energy efficiency, and resource use. By combining Steel Data Spaces with Digital Product and Material Passports, SMARTChain supports circularity, traceability, and the EU twin green and digital transition.
Seamless Digital Integration in steel value chain for high quality final products: SMARTChain Project
The steel industry is a strategic pillar of the European economy, yet it remains a major emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for approximately 4% of total EU CO₂ emissions. In line with the EU Green Deal and climate neutrality goals, a systemic transformation of the steel value chain is required; one that embeds sustainability, traceability, and circularity at its core. As recognised by the Clean Steel Partnership and the SRIA, digitalisation represents a key enabler to enhance both environmental performance and global competitiveness of the EU steel sector. In this framework, SMARTChain (Project 101178919), funded under the Horizon Europe programme within the Clean Steel Partnership.
The project started on October 1st, 2024, runs for 36 months, with a total budget of over 6.4 million euros. The consortium brings together 14 partners, with a balanced mix of research organizations and public and private entities from six different countries (Italy, Spain, Lithuania, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Turkey), fostering a strong international network of expertise. SMARTChain aims to improve digitalisation in steel industry to go a step further in process control and optimisation, realising a horizontal integration in the steel value chain, through secure data sharing, promoting the interoperability of systems and tools to aim better quality of final and intermediate products, while optimising energy consumption and consequently reducing CO2 emissions. At the core of the project is the development of an interoperable digital platform shared by steelmaker and steel users. The platform enables real-time data acquisition, normalization, and cross-stage correlation, from raw materials to final product delivery. These data streams feed AI-driven predictive optimization models, designed to improve product quality, enhance energy efficiency, and minimize material waste.
The platform incorporates advanced analytics including machine learning algorithms, anomaly detection, and multivariate forecasting, establishing a dynamic link between process parameters, material behavior, and performance indicators. A key innovative component of SMARTChain is the deployment, for the first time in the steel sector, of an Industrial Data Space to ensure secure, sovereign, and trusted data exchange, complemented by Digital Product and Material Passports (DPP and DMP) to guarantee traceability, transparency, and recyclability of materials. These solutions enable data-driven circular business models and support informed decision-making related to reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, ultimately extending product life cycles and improving resource efficiency. In parallel, the project embeds a strong human-centric dimension, with dedicated training programs for upskilling the industrial workforce in AI and digital manufacturing technologies.
With a scalable and replicable architecture, SMARTChain contributes directly to the EU’s Twin Transition, green and digital, by showcasing how advanced digital solutions can unlock circularity, competitiveness, and sustainability in industrial steel sectors.