ANDRITZ said its equipment allows voestalpine to perform both pickling and cold rolling in one plant. They also built an acid regeneration plant compliant with environmental standards and enabling flexible production of high-purity iron oxide. 

“The new installation enables us to increase the production quality of high strength and ultra-high strength steel strip for the automotive, household appliance and construction industries, as well as electrical steel for e-mobility,” said Walter Schickmaier, business unit manager of voestalpine. 

The continuous pickling line processes advanced steel grades and special materials for e-mobility and operates with hydrochloric acid which is recycled in the acid regeneration plant. The company estimates it has a capacity of about 1.8 million metric tons per year.

The acid regeneration plant is estimated to have recovery rates of almost 100%, meeting the highest environmental standards for exhaust gas and wastewater treatment. High-purity iron oxide, an important raw material in the e-mobility sector, is produced as a byproduct of the acid regeneration process, the company said. 

ANDRITZ said they also delivered several systems for removing silicon from the acid loops. 

The contract included engineering, manufacturing, installation and startup of the equipment. The final acceptance tests were completed at the end of March, the companies said.