Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation is participating in a demonstration project for the development of a hydrogen-based fluidised bed fine ore reduction (HYFOR) process and electric smelting furnace in partnership with Mitsubishi-owned, UK-based metals company Primetals Technologies.
The project entails constructing and operating an industrial-scale prototype plant for a new hydrogen-based ironmaking process at a Voestalpine steelworks in Linz, Austria.
Operations are scheduled to begin in mid-2027. The new ironmaking process has a projected capacity of three tonnes per hour and will produce hot metal and hot briquetted iron using the HYFOR and smelter technologies developed by Primetals. Global mining firm Rio Tinto will supply 70% of the iron ore.
HYFOR is billed as the world’s first direct reduction technology for iron ore particles that does not require any agglomeration steps and enables the use of a wide variety of iron ores as feedstock.
Powered by renewable energy, the smelter is used for melting and final reduction of direct reduced iron (DRI) to produce hot metal for the steelmaking plant. Funding for the investment and operation of this prototype plant has been provided by the Austrian federal government and the EU.
Since 2021, Primetals has operated a pilot plant and run numerous test campaigns. By using hydrogen derived from renewable energy, it can also significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared with existing ironmaking processes.
DRI has low CO2 emissions in the ironmaking process and the demand for DRI is expected to increase in the medium to long term. Once HYFOR and smelter technologies are demonstrated, they could play an important role in decarbonising the steel industry.
Potential drawbacks include high costs, potential metallurgical complexities, and the need for a reliable renewable energy supply. There are also challenges related to raw material sourcing and infrastructure requirements.
