Brazilian iron ore miner Vale and Midrex Technologies, Inc. have signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement to advance the use of iron ore briquettes in direct reduction plants, aiming to support steelmaking decarbonization, according to a Midrex press release.
The agreement builds on a year of joint technical cooperation and testing. Vale’s briquetting technology produces high-quality iron ore agglomerates through a low-temperature process using binders, resulting in strong, durable briquettes. Initial tests have shown promising results in using these briquettes in the direct reduction process.
If successful in Midrex Plants, the partners plan to explore a joint venture to provide briquette technology and facilities to the market. Vale’s briquettes offer an alternative to iron ore pellets, with lower production costs, investment intensity, and about 80pct lower CO2 emissions.
Direct Reduction Iron (DRI), produced through this process, is a key feedstock for Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs), enabling cleaner steel production. DRI can also supplement or replace iron ore in Blast Furnaces (BFs), reducing coke usage and carbon emissions. Direct reduction technology, which uses natural gas instead of coke, has a lower CO2 footprint. Replacing natural gas with green hydrogen further enables the production of near-zero-emission green steel.
