Midrex Technologies has been selected by U. S. Steel to supply a 2.5 mln tons per year HDRI/HBI direct reduced iron (DRI) plant for the company’s Big River Steel Works facility in Osceola, Arkansas.
The project is expected to begin production in 2029 and will become the first DRI facility of its kind in the United States integrated with electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking and a domestic DR-grade pellet supply chain.
The MIDREX Flex plant will produce hot direct reduced iron (HDRI) for adjacent EAF operations, while also manufacturing hot briquetted iron (HBI) for merchant sales and export markets. According to Midrex, direct charging of HDRI into EAFs can improve productivity, reduce energy consumption and lower emissions intensity.
The project is expected to strengthen U. S. Steel’s domestic “mine-to-melt” supply chain by linking the company’s iron ore assets with advanced DRI and steelmaking operations at Big River Steel Works.
Midrex said its natural gas-based direct reduction technology, combined with an electric melter, can reduce carbon emissions by up to 50pct compared with conventional blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking routes.
Big River Steel Works, a U.S. Steel facility located in Osceola, Arkansas, is one of the most advanced flat-rolled steel mills in North America, with a combined annual raw steelmaking capacity of approximately 6 mln tons across two integrated complexes.