voestalpine signed a supply agreement with Siemens Industry and its consortium partner, Midrex Technologies for the construction of its direct reduction plant on the La Quinta Trade Gateway in San Patricio County near Corpus Christi, Texas (USA). The construction of the new direct reduction plant is slated to start once the final official permits are received.
The plant on Corpus Christi Bay will be designed for an annual capacity of two million tons of high-quality Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI). The Siemens-Midrex consortium will provide engineering, the mechanical and electrical equipment, and consulting services for the plant. Total investment volume will come to around EUR 550M and will include comprehensive infrastructure improvements for the project location, particularly the necessary harbour facilities, in addition to the MIDREX facility. The MIDREX facility will produce high-quality HBI from iron ore pellets, which is an excellent pre-material for the manufacture of crude steel. In contrast to using purely coke-based blast furnaces, the planned direct reduction plant will only use natural gas, which is much more environmentally friendly, as the reducing agent.
The launch of production is planned for early 2016. Once it is up and running, the plant will have around 150 employees. “With Siemens and Midrex, we will have highly competent partners with a tried and tested technology at our side. By choosing a U.S. partner company, we are also making a significant contribution to the desired local value added ”, stated Wolfgang Eder, CEO and chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG.
