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Steel & Metal
- Germany -
German consortium constructs a test facility for an electric DRI smelter.
Thyssenkrupp Steel has enlisted Grenzebach Maschinenbau to oversee the design, construction, and launch of an electric smelter test facility for direct reduced iron at its Duisburg plant, as reported by Kallanish. This initiative forms part of the carbon-neutral transformation strategy at the site, in collaboration with the German Iron and Steel Institute's Institute for Applied Research. The project's objective is to demonstrate the conversion of sponge iron from direct reduction plants into liquid hot metal using an innovative smelter. The contract, valued at approximately €7.5 million ($8.1m), will be funded by the North Rhine-Westphalia state economy ministry (65%) and Thyssenkrupp Steel (35%). The Institute for Applied Research will conduct trials with various feedstocks, including direct reduced iron, alternative carbonaceous materials, and recycled substances, to explore hot metal production. Initial trial runs are set to commence in early 2026 using a demonstration-scale smelter capable of processing 100 kg/hour of DRI, tailored to the DRI test facility's requirements. Recently, Thyssenkrupp and the Institute for Applied Research selected TS Elino to supply the DRI test facility, marking a strategic move towards hydrogen-based direct reduction technology research. This innovative approach, combining hydrogen-based direct reduction with melters, represents a pioneering industrial-scale implementation by Thyssenkrupp Steel. Chief Technology Officer Arnd Köfler emphasized the significance of this project in advancing steelmaking technology and addressing fundamental questions in the industry's transformation.
