27 March 2019

2017 YSSPer Hana Mandova

Hana Mandova focuses on the techno-economic aspects related to decarbonising the iron and steel industry using bio-CCS in her recent publication. Read more about the importance of this work and how the YSSP impacted her research.

© Hana Mandová

© Hana Mandová

Hana Mandova is a final year PhD student at the University of Leeds (UK), which she started after completing an undergraduate degree in Mathematics.  She participated at the 2017 Young Summer Scientist Program (YSSP) during which she worked on the development of the BeWhere model, and its adaptation to study bioenergy deployment within an industry sector. The model development and the quality of her research during this time was awarded by the Peccei Award, which allowed her to come back to IIASA a year later and triggered this publication. 




The publication, entitled “Achieving carbon-neutral iron and steelmaking in Europe through the deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage”, focuses on the techno-economic aspects related to decarbonising the iron and steel industry using bio-CCS. It follows up on my previous work, which evaluated the amount of available biomass resources around the EU and the potential for their use across the currently operating integrated steel plants. The findings provide plant-specific estimates of the CO2 avoidance costs and suggest policy measures to be deployed to achieve cost-effective decarbonisation.  

Why is this important?

The iron and steel industry is one of the most emission intensive as well as one of the most difficult to decarbonise. To reach net zero CO2 emissions globally by mid century, every industry has to aim to achieve carbon neutrality. Iron and steel production is hence under high pressure to deploy innovative technologies that would be able to achieve so. Unfortunately, their deployment in the near future is highly uncertain as those technologies have not yet been commercialised. This work studies whether the combination of two existing technologies (bioenergy and CCS) could be a solution for achieving the required emission reduction for the European iron and steel plants and how do the opportunities differ across each individual plant. 

How the YSSP impacted me?

If it wasn’t for the YSSP, this, as well as my previous publication, would not have happened. The YSSP was a great and very unique opportunity for me to use a well-established energy model, expand my knowledge on the latest research trends, and improve my qualities as a researcher.



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Last edited: 03 April 2019

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