Voestalpine, together with Primetals Technologies and Rio Tinto, has started construction of an industrial-scale demonstration plant at its Linz site in Austria to advance hydrogen-based ironmaking technologies. The project aims to develop processes capable of achieving net-zero CO2 emissions, offering an alternative to traditional blast furnaces for producing hot metal and hot-briquetted iron (HBI). The plant is expected to start operations by the end of 2027 with a capacity of 3 tons per hour.
The initiative will deploy HYFOR, the first direct reduction technology for iron ore fines without agglomeration, and a renewable-powered Smelter to complete reduction and produce hot metal. Using certified green hydrogen from the existing H2Future electrolysis plant, the technologies are expected to be commercially available from 2028.
Rio Tinto will supply 70pct of the iron ore for the project and support future commercialization, while Mitsubishi Corporation has joined as a strategic co-investor.
The project is backed by funding from the Austrian federal government, the European Union Clean Steel Partnership, and the EU Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
