(Duisburg / Germany) – TS Elino GmbH from Düren is installing a research plant for the direct reduction of iron (DRI) for hydrogen-based steel production for Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG. The client is VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH (BFI).
With a kick-off meeting with Thyssenkrupp Steel and the plant manufacturer TS Elino, the VDEh operational research institute started work on the construction of the direct reduction test plant. © BFI
This is a project that is “designed for flexible operation with different feed materials containing iron oxide as well as hydrogen-rich process gases and pure hydrogen in combination with natural gas” in order to advance research into the direct reduction of iron ore. It is part of the “Real Laboratories of the Energy Transition” project “H2Stahl” funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK). The order volume is around ten million euros.
Flexibility for direct reduction research
The planned facility with a height of around 40 meters will be able to accommodate different direct reduction processes and thus offer “maximum flexibility” for research. The measurement, control and regulation technology enables the use of different reducing gases such as hydrogen, natural gas and the mixed gases produced during steel production.
Visualization of Thyssenkrupp's first direct reduction plant at the Duisburg site (highlighted in white). © Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG
Since it is not tied to a specific process, the system can also be operated with various input materials such as pellets, lump ore and recycled materials. The capacity is 100 kilograms of directly reduced iron per hour. The BFI is responsible for project coordination and operations; the first test campaigns are planned for early 2026. In this way, operating points could be optimized and integration into the process network of a steelworks could be simulated before the actual DRI system is put into operation.
In spring 100, the SMS Group was commissioned to build a 2023 percent hydrogen-capable direct reduction plant with two melters on an industrial scale. In the future, reduced iron, so-called sponge iron, will be extracted directly from iron ores, which in turn will be used to melt pig iron with the help of green electricity. With a capacity of 2,3 million tons of regeneratively produced pig iron per year, up to 143.000 million tons of CO5,6 per year could be avoided by using around 3,5 tons of hydrogen (equivalent to 2 terawatt hours).
Early start of construction approved
In February, the Düsseldorf district government granted Thyssenkrupp Steel approval to start construction of the DRI plant early. The group submitted the application in October 2023. The approval decision is “an important milestone in the process”. Final approval is expected at the end of 2024.
This means that the foundation work could now begin after the work to prepare the construction site has been completed. Up to 40 people would work on the site, which is almost 2.000 football pitches in size, during the construction phase. The main part of the facility will be 140 meters high and flanked by around 60 buildings.
In addition, Thyssenkrupp and the energy company RWE recently concluded a ten-year contract for the supply of green electricity (Power Purchase Agreement, PPA). This is how the electric melters are supposed to be operated.
The energy comes from the Kaskasi offshore wind farm in the North Sea, 35 kilometers off the coast of Heligoland. The annual delivery volume is 110 gigawatt hours. “In addition to the use of renewable hydrogen, renewable energy is a core point of our transformation strategy,” explains Arnd Köfler, Chief Technology Officer at Thyssenkrupp Steel.
Tender for hydrogen supply
A few days before the PPA was signed, the steel company launched a tender for hydrogen supply. The first use of hydrogen is planned for the system combination in 2028, and the ramp-up to full hydrogen operation is scheduled to be completed in 2029.
In the summer of 2023, Thyssenkrupp Steel received a grant of approximately two billion euros from the federal and state governments for its "tkH2Steel" project. The company's own investment amounts to nearly one billion euros. The group aims to avoid more than 30 percent of its annual CO2 emissions by 2030. Steel production is to be completely climate-neutral by 2045 at the latest.
Class schedule
Rendering of the future direct reduction plant in Thyssenkrupp Steel's tkH2Steel decarbonization project. © Thyssenkrupp AG
