Set to be developed in Gubkin, Russia, the facility will be capable of producing 2.08 million metric tonnes of HBI from the start of operations in 2025.

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The HBI is a low-carbon raw material that can be used for steel production within electric furnaces to generate up to 50% less carbon emissions than traditional blast-furnace methods.

The contracted plant can be converted to use up to 100% hydrogen as a reducing agent which will thus produce even greener HBI for the production of low-carbon steel.

Nazim Efendiev, CEO of Metalloinvest, said, “Two new facilities will double joint production capacity of USM and Metalloinvest – from 4,6 to 9 million tonnes of HBI per year.

“This will strengthen our position as a leading provider of this crucial element in the transition to greener steel production.

“That is a significant milestone in the global steel industry’s decarbonisation efforts. We highly appreciate the expertise of our partners Primetals and Midrex, and we are looking forward to jointly implementing the project according to our tight deadlines.”

Stephen Montague, President and CEO of Midrex, said, “HBI-4 will further increase Metalloinvest’s dominant position to supply merchant HBI to meet the growing demand for low-carbon metallics.

“Our hydrogen-ready technology is the right step towards green steelmaking and carbon neutrality.”