A pair of Italian based metal industry engineering firms has won an order for the fabrication and supply of a Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) plant, which will be the centerpiece of a landmark green steel project construction work on which was launched at Duqm Special Economic Zone last month.

Tenova and Danieli, both leading providers of engineering solutions for the metals and mining industries, have announced that they have been contracted to supply their proprietary Energiron technology for the new hydrogen-ready DRI plant of Vulcan Green Steel (VGS), wholly owned by Indian power and steel giant Jindal Group.

On November 27, Vulcan Green Steel broke ground on its $3 billion project at Duqm SEZ, which at full capacity will produce 5 million tonnes per annum of green steel based entirely on the use of green hydrogen and renewable energy as fuel resources.

The new Energiron DRI plant, based on innovative technology jointly developed by Tenova and Danieli, will initially be powered by natural gas before hydrogen is used as a blend when green hydrogen becomes available on site.

According to Danieli, the single-module, zero-reformer Energiron plant will hot charge the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) with direct reduction iron (DRI) at temperatures higher than 600°C, allowing energy savings for steelmaking. The plant will also be capable of producing Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) for storage or export.

“Hybrid by design, hydrogen-ready Energiron technology makes it possible to use natural gas as reducing agent with the possibility to use hydrogen up to 100%, or any mix of these, according to hydrogen availability. Actually, the use of some natural gas during the Direct Reduction process is appropriate for adding a minimum of carbon to the DRI, needed during melting,” Danieli added in a statement.

Significantly, Energiron technology has the capability to capture the CO2 from the direct reduction process and utilize it for other applications, thereby contributing to carbon reductions from the overall operation. Utilisation of this captured CO2 will also create a new source of revenue for the company, it noted.

Completion of the DRI plant at Vulcan Green Steel’s Duqm complex is targeted during 2026.