Tenova will supply a pilot direct reduction unit for Nippon Steel

The installation will be built in the research center of the Japanese steel producer

Italy’s Tenova, which specializes in innovative solutions for the iron and steel industry, will supply an experimental direct reduction unit with Energiron technology to Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel. This is reported by HydroNews.

The plant will be built at Nippon Steel’s research center in Hasaki. It will be used to demonstrate the development of direct reduction technology for the recovery of low-grade iron ore using only hydrogen.

Using the Energiron technology developed by Tenova and Danieli, Nippon Steel’s new pilot plant will be able to use hydrogen as a reducing agent, as well as natural gas and other gases or mixtures of different fuels in various combinations and proportions.

In addition, the plant will be equipped with a CO₂ sequestration system, also supplied by Tenova. This will help to dramatically reduce carbon emissions even when using carbon-containing reducing agents (such as methane).

«This contract confirms that Energiron’s technology is the best solution for DRI systems available on the market today. We are pleased to be able to contribute to this project and equip Japan’s first hydrogen-fueled pilot direct reduction plant,» said Stefano Maggiolino, President and CEO of Tenova HYL.

The international mining group LKAB has chosen Energiron technology for the basic design of a hydrogen DRI plant in Jellivar, Sweden. According to Tenova, this contract marks an important milestone in the application of the technology following its successful use at a pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden, operated by HYBRIT.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Tenova announced cooperation with Italy’s De Nora and Snam on a project to test hybrid heating technologies for steel reheating. The three companies are partners in the European project HyTecHeat, funded by the EU through the Horizon Europe program for €3.3 million.