GREENLINE officially launches to accelerate the decarbonisation of Europe’s forging and casting industries

The new Horizon Europe project GREENLINE has officially begun its three-year journey to develop and demonstrate innovative electrified in-line heat treatment technologies for Europe’s forging and casting industries.

GREENLINE (Green Electrified Ultrafast In-Line Heat Treatment for Net-Zero Forging and Casting) is a Horizon Europe Innovation Action bringing together partners from across Europe to address one of the key challenges facing energy-intensive metal manufacturing: reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions while maintaining product quality, performance and industrial competitiveness.

The project will develop and demonstrate a novel in-line heat treatment process designed to replace conventional batch heat treatment with a more energy-efficient, electrified alternative.

In conventional production, components are typically cooled after forging or casting before being reheated for subsequent heat treatment. GREENLINE aims to transform this process by making use of the residual heat already contained in the manufactured component. Hot parts will be transferred directly into a compact, electrified modular furnace, combined with an innovative ultra-fast cooling system.

By eliminating unnecessary cooling and reheating stages, GREENLINE targets energy savings of up to 40% and lead-time reductions of up to 95%, alongside significant reductions in CO₂ emissions, while ensuring compliance with metallurgical and industrial standards.

The technologies developed through GREENLINE will be validated in real industrial environments, with a forging pilot at CIE Legazpi and a casting pilot at Betsaide.

A European collaboration for industrial decarbonisation

GREENLINE officially commenced on 1 June 2026 and will run for 36 months.

Coordinated by AZTERLAN Metallurgy Research Centre, the project brings together expertise from across the industrial value chain, including forging and casting companies, furnace and technology providers, industrial integration specialists, steel producers, research organisations and communication and dissemination experts.

This multidisciplinary approach will enable GREENLINE to address not only the technical development of the new heat treatment process, but also its industrial validation, environmental performance, economic potential and future replication across European manufacturing.

Through this collaboration, GREENLINE aims to contribute to a climate-neutral metal processing industry powered by energy-efficient, electrified manufacturing systems.

GREENLINE Kick-Off Meeting in the Basque Country

On 15–16 June 2026, the GREENLINE consortium gathered in Durango, Basque Country, Spain, for the project’s Kick-Off Meeting, hosted by project coordinator AZTERLAN.

The meeting marked the beginning of the consortium’s collaborative work towards accelerating the decarbonisation of Europe’s forging and casting industries.

Over two intensive days, partners reviewed the project’s technical objectives, aligned the first implementation activities and established the collaborative framework that will guide GREENLINE throughout the next three years.

The discussions covered the different stages required to bring the GREENLINE concept from development to industrial demonstration, from defining technical requirements and advancing metallurgical modelling to developing the ultra-fast cooling system and modular electric furnace and, ultimately, validating the complete process under industrial conditions.

Beyond the technical programme, the Kick-Off Meeting provided an important opportunity for consortium partners from across Europe to meet face-to-face, strengthen cooperation and reinforce their shared commitment to delivering practical solutions for the transition towards climate-neutral manufacturing.

From innovation to industrial implementation

The launch of GREENLINE marks the beginning of an ambitious effort to rethink how heat treatment can be integrated into forging and casting production.

Over the coming three years, the consortium will work towards demonstrating that electrified in-line heat treatment can reduce energy use, emissions and processing time while preserving the metallurgical performance required by industry.

By combining advanced metallurgical knowledge, ultra-fast cooling, compact electric furnace technology and validation in real production environments, GREENLINE aims to provide a credible pathway towards more sustainable and competitive metal manufacturing in Europe.

The project will also engage industrial stakeholders, technology providers, researchers, policymakers and the wider manufacturing community throughout its implementation, sharing knowledge and results and supporting the future uptake and replication of GREENLINE technologies across European industry.

GREENLINE is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme under Grant Agreement No. 101294375.