- World DRI production may reach 220 mnt by 2030 posing raw material constraints
- Shinko and Midrex working to develop melter technology to tackle impurities
Electric furnace steelmaking utilising reduced iron (DRI) is attracting attention as a new decarbonisation process in the steel industry. When producing reduced iron, the process of using hydrogen as the reducing material for iron ore, which emits almost no carbon dioxide (CO2), is in the spotlight, but another important research topic is the technology for utilising low-grade iron ore.
The Kobe Steel Group, which boasts the world’s top market share in reducing iron plant deliveries, is tackling this difficult challenge.
Low-grade ore in DRI
Kobe Steel is an engineering company for reducing iron plants, and in collaboration with the wholly owned U.S. company Midrex, it is advancing the development of technology that can utilise low-grade iron ore for the production of reduced iron.
To produce reduced iron, it is generally necessary to use high-grade iron ore with low impurities as raw material. While it is possible to produce reduced iron from low-grade iron ore with high impurities such as phosphorus and nitrogen, when melting the reduced iron in an electric furnace, the high impurity tends to reduce productivity. Disadvantages such as difficulty in slag control have also been pointed out.
Therefore, almost without exception, high-grade ore is used for reducing iron. However, not all iron mines can produce high-grade ore. Regions where high-grade ore can be mined are unevenly located, and iron ore pellets for reduced iron (spherical raw materials made by roasting fine-grained, dusty iron ore) always face supply concerns.
The current global production of reduced iron is about 150 mnt (2025). At the current production scale, pellet supply capacity is considered sufficient, but with the expansion of electric furnace steelmaking, reduction iron production is predicted to reach 220 mnt by 2035. If raw material constraints are not resolved, there is a risk that raw material supply cannot keep up with the expansion of reduced iron production in the future. Even if raw materials are secured, there is a risk that prices will soar due to their uneven distribution.
The current annual maritime trade volume of iron ore is about 1.7 billion tonnes. If grade constraints are eliminated, theoretically, even if reduced iron production expands, raw material supply can be sufficiently secured. Additionally, utilising low-grade ore will also strengthen the competitiveness of the reduced iron–electric furnace process.
Electric melting furnace
Recognising these challenges, Kobe Steel is jointly promoting the development of technologies for utilising reduced iron from low-grade ore with Midrex. The company is focusing on an electric melting furnace (melter) for reduced iron.
A melter is placed in the post-production process of reducing iron, melting the reduced iron at high temperatures to remove impurities. By passing through the melter, it becomes an iron source equivalent to pig iron produced in blast furnaces, which helps suppress productivity decline even when used in electric furnaces and enables the production of high-grade steel.
There are still challenges to practical application. First, the issue of cost. As the number of processes increases, rising production costs are inevitable. There are also challenges such as how to balance these with global warming countermeasures. In technology development, it is also necessary to verify and overcome these economic and environmental feasibility.
Competition in technology development has already begun regarding the utilisation of medium and low-grade iron ore and the utilisation of reduced iron produced from this ore. In Australia, two major resource companies, Rio Tinto and BHP, are advancing technology development. In Japan, the government’s Green Innovation (GI) Fund project offers a similar menu.
Shinko and Midrex continue steady research on improving operational efficiency in reduced iron production, alongside developing melter technology. The Midrex plant has already succeeded in commercialising hydrogen-based technology in reduced iron production, and in Sweden, it has already received orders for a full-scale plant with an annual output of 2.1 mnt.
They aim to lead the development competition by leveraging their years of expertise in reducing iron manufacturing technology.
Note: The article is published as part of a content sharing agreement between Japan Metal Daily and BigMint
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