Thyssenkrupp Steel has awarded the contract for the construction of the DRI test plant at the Duisburg site to the Düren-based plant manufacturer TS Elino GmbH. The aim of the plant is to optimise individual operating points of hydrogen-based pig iron production. The SMS Group is currently building a larger DRI plant, which the steel manufacturer plans to commission at the end of 2026.
According to the steel producer on Thursday (7 March), the project participants want to use the DRI pilot plant to gain further insights into hydrogen-based pig iron production. For example, the integration of the pilot plant into the process network of a steelworks is to be simulated. The pilot plant will thus make an important contribution to the industrial implementation of hydrogen-based direct reduction.
The first test campaigns are planned for early 2026. In addition to more precise data onCO2 savings, product quality and plant performance, thyssenkrupp also hopes to gain insights into plant handling and safety.
The tests are accompanied by simulations and special tests on reduction plants in the technical centre of the VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut (BFI) in Düsseldorf. This enables research on various scales (pilot plant, direct reduction test plant, industrial plant).
Investigation of various DRI methods
The planned facility is to have a height of around 40 metres. In order to be able to reproduce different DRI methods, "maximum flexibility for research" is required. The test facility will have a capacity of 100 kg/h of directly reduced iron and will be connected to the infrastructure of the nearby Carbon2Chem technical centre.
The DRI plant enables the use of different reduction gases. In addition to hydrogen, natural gas and mixed gases from steel production can also be used. In addition, the pilot plant is not tied to a specific direct reduction process. This makes it possible to operate the plant with various input materials such as pellets, lump ore and recycled materials.
The test plant is part of the H2Stahl "Real-world laboratories for the energy transition" project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK). The steel producer awarded the contract for a larger DRI plant to SMS group around a year ago. It is scheduled to go into regular operation at the end of 2026 and will then produce 2.5 million tonnes of directly reduced iron per year. In mid-February, thyssenkrupp received approval for the early start of construction, shortly after which the group concluded a power purchase agreement with RWE to supply the plant with electricity.
