The company said the facility will expand the capabilities of its current metallurgical laboratory and allow for ISO-compliant testing of feedstocks for the future hydrogen-based direct reduction (DR) plant. The contract was given to Heat & Power.

“With the new DR laboratory, we are creating the technical capability to evaluate feedstock quality under realistic, hydrogen-based conditions. The measurement results from the new test benches form an important basis for evaluating the iron carriers and for ensuring stable and efficient operation of our future direct reduction plant,” said Marco Richrath, chief operation officer at thyssenkrupp Steel. 

 While blast furnaces have CO-rich process gases and temperatures over 1,000°C, the DR process uses hydrogen-rich gases at temperatures around 1,000°C or lower. Therefore, pellets and lump ore used must be tested to make sure they align with ISO standards for DR processes. The test atmosphere of the new testing facilities is modeled after these future operating conditions, the company said. 

The DR route has been tested to have about 45% hydrogen during natural gas operation, opposed to 2% in blast furnaces. With the planned increase, the test conditions will be gradually adjusted to increasing hydrogen content. Two test furnaces will also allow steam injections to study its influence on feedstock-specific reduction rates. The investigations will be in tandem with the ISO tests in the future, the company said. 

The company said a combination of a DR plant and electric smelters will be featured in the future process route for a more flexible raw material strategy. They will also invest in targeted training of their employees to be prepared for the new testing methods.