As a core component of greentec steel, we will commission our electric arc furnace (EAF) in 2027. In addition to scrap and pig iron, we will also feed it with iron briquettes for steel production. HBI is a briquetted form of directly reduced iron that is suitable for transport and storage.
To ensure a continuous supply to the EAF in the future, we are constructing a new HBI supply facility. Along with the new conveyor bridge and the new microtunnel for the power supply, we are thus achieving another milestone on the path to green steel production.
The HBI complex consists of delivery, screening (including sampling), and dust removal. In the first phase, civil engineering work took place in the fall of 2025, and steel construction and conveyor system installation began in the spring of 2026.
In the HBI plant, unwanted components of the delivered HBI will be sorted out and the fine particles screened out. We then determine the exact chemical composition of the HBI and feed it into the electric furnace.
To ensure the entire complex remains thoroughly clean, we use a dust collection system to maintain a dust-free environment. We then feed the extracted particles, together with the fine particles from the screening process, into the internal cycle of the sintering plant as iron-rich materials. This preserves the valuable feedstock.
Each year, we will need approximately 450,000 metric tons of HBI for the first EAF. We source most of the material from Texas, USA. It is shipped to the port of Koper in Slovenia. From there, the material is transported by rail to Linz. Here, the railcars are unloaded, and the iron briquettes are transported to the HBI plant.
Within the framework of our focus greentec steel, we provide an overview of our concrete steps on the way towards long-term green steel production and the innovative processes we are using on this way. We provide information about the challenges we face and the breakthrough technologies we are already researching today in order to achieve our goal of steel production with net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. funded by the BMK’s environmental support program.
Die voestalpine ist ein weltweit führender Stahl- und Technologiekonzern mit kombinierter Werkstoff- und Verarbeitungskompetenz. Die global tätige Unternehmensgruppe verfügt über rund 500 Konzerngesellschaften und -standorte in mehr als 50 Ländern auf allen fünf Kontinenten. Sie notiert seit 1995 an der Wiener Börse. Mit ihren Premium-Produkt- und Systemlösungen zählt sie zu den führenden Partnern der Automobil- und Hausgeräteindustrie sowie der Luftfahrt- und Öl- & Gasindustrie und ist darüber hinaus Weltmarktführer bei Bahninfrastruktursystemen, bei Werkzeugstahl und Spezialprofilen. Die voestalpine bekennt sich zu den globalen Klimazielen und verfolgt mit greentec steel einen klaren Plan zur Dekarbonisierung der Stahlproduktion.