Estonia is not slowing down on its quest to make the environment greener with tech. A Tallinn-based scrap metal recycling company is developing two research projects with Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) to make the circular economy safer and metal blending more efficient.

Cronimet Nordic, whose CEO Eva Pedjak presented at Enterprise Estonia’s Top Innovators programme, has an ambitious vision for the sector. Cronimet’s goal is to create one of the world’s most innovative circular scrap metal companies in Estonia over the next few years. “My wish is that in four to five years, we will have a scrap metal circular economy company in Estonia that other scrap metal companies from around the world could come to learn from,” she said.

Spotting radioactive material on time

Radioactive objects occasionally end up mixed in with scrap metal — smoke detectors, for instance, contain the chemical element americium. If such material reaches a steel mill and is only discovered after smelting, the consequences are costly: furnaces must be shut down, the facility decontaminated, and the contaminated material destroyed.

Cronimet has already invested millions of euros in radiation monitoring for both incoming and outgoing metal. However, not all radioactive substances are easily detected by conventional sensors.

To address this gap, the company is working with TalTech to develop a drone- and AI-based image recognition system capable of scanning metal stockpiles for objects that resemble hazardous devices or components. Once flagged, the system pinpoints the item’s exact location in the pile, allowing a worker or machine to remove and test it before it enters the smelting process.

Optimising metal

The second project focuses on optimising the blending of scrap metal for stainless steel production. Cronimet’s main activities are the purchase of scrap metal with varying chemical compositions, its analysis, and the production of metal mixtures according to orders from steel mills.

Steel mills require materials with very precise chemical compositions — for example, an alloy containing roughly 8% nickel, 17% chromium, and 70% iron. Cronimet’s core business involves buying scrap metal of varying compositions, analysing it, and preparing blends to meet those specifications. The company has nearly 40 years of experience doing so.

The research collaboration with TalTech aims to identify which material combinations yield better-optimised blends — for instance, reducing instances of chromium oxidation in an electric arc furnace and loss during production.

Both sides agreed that whilst global research on steelmaking is extensive, the use and reprocessing of scrap metal from a metallurgical perspective remains comparatively understudied. Cronimet aims to help fill that gap.

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