The European Union has agreed to contribute EUR 7.4M towards testing a new iron production process being developed at Tata Steel’s IJmuiden steelworks in the Netherlands. The 6-month test campaign of the HIsarna pilot plant in 2016 will establish whether the new technology can produce molten iron in a stable way over a sustained period. The EU’s support represents nearly a third of the EUR 25M test costs next year.
If the technology is viable and can be scaled up successfully, it would enable further resource efficiency improvements in steelmaking – and reduce impacts on the environment. Steel companies would be able to use a wider range of raw materials, including recycling materials, and the technology would lead to lower CO2 emissions.
Photo courtesy of Tata Steel
Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said: “We welcome the European Union’s support for this promising and potentially ground-breaking project. The development of this technology still has a long way to go, so support from the EU is vital.”
Next year’s test campaign is the fifth series of tests since the pilot plant was built in 2010. Tata Steel and its project partners aim to prove the facility can produce liquid iron for sustained periods. The previous four campaigns each lasted about two months, during which iron was produced for a maximum of three days.
