Metso has opened a state-of-the-art DRI (direct reduced iron) Smelting Furnace pilot facility in Pori, Finland. The new facility, opened on October 25, 2024, will allow customer-specific pilot-scale testing to demonstrate the applicability and results of industrial-scale DRI smelting with Metso’s Outotec® DRI Smelting Furnace technology.
“This new pilot facility is yet another example of Metso’s cutting-edge solutions that support the minerals and metals processing industry in the quest to implement new sustainable technologies. Metso’s DRI Smelting Furnace substitutes traditional blast furnaces used in iron and steel making and enables a significant reduction of emissions when combined with a direct reduction plant,” notes Jyrki Makkonen, Vice President, Smelting at Metso.
“The investment into the DRI Smelting Furnace pilot facility supports the rapidly increasing customer demand for reliable testing when planning a transition to emissions-free smelting. With the pilot facility, we can reliably test various types of customer materials for industrial scale-up. The construction of the pilot plant and equipment installations have gone extremely rapidly and smoothly. Hot commissioning of the equipment will take place soon, and then we will be ready for customer testing,” explains Mari Lindgren, Director, Smelting Research & Development at Metso.
A breakthrough technology
The new high-capacity DRI Smelting Furnace, launched in 2022, is one of Metso’s breakthrough technologies and a major Planet Positive solution to support decarbonizing the iron and steel industry.
Combined with a direct reduction plant, Metso’s DRI Smelting Furnace substitutes traditional blast furnaces in the production of hot metal, making it an optimal solution for primary steel producers who are aiming for a significant reduction in their CO2 emissions with minimal changes to the rest of the steel plant. The furnace can be integrated with Metso’s hydrogen-based CircoredTM process or other direct reduction processes.