Vale, GravitHy study DRI briquettes production

Market: Metals
10/05/23

Brazilian iron ore producer Vale and French direct reduction iron (DRI) producer GravitHy are studying the construction of a plant to produce direct reduction briquettes from Vale's feedstock.

The direct reduction briquette plant will be co-located in Fos-sur-Mer where GravitHy is looking to set up a DRI plant. GravitHy was launched last year by a consortium of six companies.

Production at the DRI plant is expected to start in 2027, with construction expected to start in 2024. The plant is designed to produce DRI using hydrogen as reductant fuel, which is expected to reduce emissions compared with steel production through the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method that uses metallurgical coke as the reductant for iron ore.

Vale earlier this month tested a new type of iron ore briquette, adapted for the direct reduction route of steel production, which it said emits about 80pc less carbon dioxide compared with iron ore pellets in the manufacturing process. The briquette can also be used as a charge for the traditional blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method.

Vale is building two 6mn t/yr briquette plants at its Tubarao unit in Brazil. The start-up of the first plant is planned for the end of this year's first half, while the second is expected to begin operations at the end of the year.

European DRI capacity is likely to expand to 40mn t over 2035-40 from under 1mn t currently, underpinning demand for high-grade iron ores over the long term.

By Deepali Sharma

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