Tenova builds the first hydrogen based DRI plant for HBIS in China

Tenova, an Italian a technology solution company for steel and mining industry has signed a contract with Hebei Iron and Steel (HBIS) Group, a leading Chinese steelmaker to build 600,000 tonnes per year ENERGIRON DRI plant in China. The plant will be the world first DRI plant powered by hydrogen-enriched gas and is expected to start production by the end of 2021.

Stefano Maggiolino, Tenova HYL’s president and CEO, said: “This is also an important breakthrough for the Chinese steel industry as it will be the first gas-based DRI plant in China.”

The gas mixture which will be used by HBIS will consist of around 30% of the coke oven gas sourced from the existing integrated steel plant on the site, while nearly 70% would be hydrogen sourced externally. The high volume of H2 makes HBIS the greenest DRI plant in the world with CO2 emissions of as low as 250 kg per tonne of DRI.

Moreover, carbon dioxide will be extracted by the CO2 separation unit used in the plant technology and a part of it will be reused in downstream processes or stored through CCU/CCS. Eventually, the plant’s net final emission will be just 125 kg of CO2 per tonne of DRI.