The project at the Voestalpine site in Linz will implement a new process for potential net-zero CO2 emissions ironmaking. Using hydrogen-based fine ore reduction and an electric smelting furnace, the demonstration plant in Linz will produce hot-briquetted iron, pig iron and cast iron on an industrial scale.
Primetals, together with its project partners Rio Tinto, a global mining and metals company and one of the world’s leading producers of iron ore, and steel and technology group Voestalpine has recently started construction work on an industrial-scale demonstration plant at the Voestalpine site in Linz, Austria.
According to Primetals, the project will implement a new process for potential net-zero CO2 emissions ironmaking. The partners aim to accelerate the development of hydrogen-based direct reduction and smelter technologies, providing a potential alternative to blast furnaces for hot metal and commercial hot-briquetted iron (HBI) production. The process is capable of using all types of low-to-high grade ores but focus on low-to-medium-grade ores, which make up the majority of the world’s supply. The plant is scheduled to start up at the end of 2027, with a capacity of 3 tons per hour.
"At voestalpine, we have already made a successful start on our path to the next generation of steel production. To achieve our long-term goal of net-zero CO2 emissions in steel production by 2050, we are researching new processes in collaboration with partners from industry and science, as well as investing in groundbreaking steel production projects. Seeing construction underway of the globally unique Hy4Smelt demonstration plant once again confirms our technological and innovation leadership in green steel production", says Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of Voestalpine AG.
Hydrogen-based direct reduction and smelting
Hyfor (Hydrogen-based fine-ore reduction) a direct reduction technology for iron ore fines that eliminates the need for agglomeration of the iron ore fines. It features lower reduction gas temperatures, in-situ recycling of captured dust particles, and high metallization of the direct-reduced iron (DRI) and HBI. Primetals began developing Hyfor a decade ago, and since 2021, a pilot plant owned and operated by Primetals at the Voestalpine premises in Donawitz, Austria, has run more than 50 successful campaigns with basically all major iron ore sources. The Smelter is a electric smelting furnace (ESF) powered by renewable energy that melts and completes the reduction of DRI to produce hot metal or pig iron and a value-added slag suitable as cement clinker substitute.
By using certified green hydrogen from the existing H2Future electrolysis plant at voestalpine’s site, these plants will produce hot metal similar to that from a blast furnace, but with the potential for net-zero CO2 emissions. Hyfor and Smelter are expected to be commercially available from 2028 and will have the capacity to meet the needs of the steel sector.
“With today’s groundbreaking, we are taking a major step toward net-zero CO2 emissions in ironmaking. We are about to implement technology solutions that have the potential to revolutionize the entire industry. The steel industry urgently needs to transition. Coal-fired blast furnaces, which have been the backbone of ironmaking for centuries, come at a significant and growing environmental cost. This is exactly where Hyfor and Smelter come in: with these solutions, we are paving the way for a new era in ironmaking”, says Dr. Alexander Fleischanderl, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Green Steel at Primetals.
Rio Tinto will supply 70 percent of the iron ore for the Hy4Smelt industrial-scale demonstration plant, as well as provide technical support to the project. Rio Tinto will also support the development and future commercialization of the Hyfor and Smelter technologies. “There’s still a lot to learn, but we’re optimistic about the potential of fluidized bed and electric smelting technologies to support the steel industry’s transition", says Rafael Azevedo, General Manager, Iron Ore Sales and Marketing Atlantic, Rio Tinto.
Source: Primetals Technologies
