MPI is a research and innovation centre serving steel and materials organisations worldwide.
The partnership aims to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the next generation of Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs).
MPI will use the company’s Alchemite machine learning suite at its Green Steel Centre in Teesside.
The institute said that it hopes that this will allow its research and development teams to reduce repetitive, costly and time-consuming experiments and process developments by approximately 50-80%.
Dr Gareth Conduit, CSO at Cambridge-headquartered Intellegens, said: “The programme with MPI offers a great opportunity at a time of transition for the UK steelmaking industry to EAFs. We are excited to see how Alchemite machine learning can drive steelmaking to a green future.”
The project forms a part of the UK Research and Innovation-funded ECONOMISER programme which aims to create scale-up centres for a variety of industries.
MPI said that the funding has allowed it to significantly expand its research capabilities and enhance the support it offers to industry and other stakeholders in order to accelerate the foundation industries’ progress toward sustainability and net-zero targets.
Terry Walsh, CEO of MPI, said: “Our collaboration with Intellegens is a crucial step in supporting the UK’s steel industry to transition to a more sustainable future. Applying machine learning to EAF technology will allow us to create new efficiencies and it accelerates our ability to innovate.”
Nick Parry, MPI’s group leader for industrial digitalisation, added: “We have accumulated decades of process knowledge and data, but to meet necessary innovation timelines, achieve cost savings and reducing carbon emissions, research must be conducted at a significantly faster pace to maximise the benefits to society.
“Such innovations are crucial as the steel industry shifts towards using more scrap feedstocks as demand increases for new, high-performance steel products.”
The UK steel industry made several efforts to move towards sustainability recently, with Tata Steel announcing the commissioning of a new EAF at its Port Talbot site in Wales.
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