OREANDA-NEWS. April 21, 2011. Tata Steel and Rio Tinto have signed a licensing  agreement to further support technological and commercial development of the  environmentally friendly direct iron smelting process called HIsarna™.

The agreement covers how both parties will work  together, sharing their existing knowledge of the two technologies that are  combined in the new process.  It also  covers how benefits from future successful marketing of the technology will be  made available to both parties, as well as to the members of ULCOS, the  consortium of European steelmakers in whose name the project is being carried  out.  The agreement was signed last week  by Dr Debashish Bhattacharjee, Group Director, Tata Steel Research, Development  & Technology (RD&T), and Rio Tinto, represented by Mr Sam Walsh, Chief  Executive, Rio Tinto Iron Ore. 

The HIsarna™ ironmaking process consists of  cyclone pre-reduction technology (CCF), owned by Tata Steel, and bath smelting  technology (HIsmelt) owned by Rio Tinto.   This combination offers excellent opportunities for the collection and  geological storage of CO2, the ability to utilise lower-cost raw  material feeds, and the prospect of energy savings through the elimination of  stages in the ironmaking process that are necessary today.  The technology has the long-term potential  to replace conventional blast furnaces, coke ovens and sinter plants and to  reduce CO2 emissions by more than 50% if combined with Carbon  Capture and Storage (CCS).

The MD and CEO of Tata Steel in Europe, Dr  Karl-Ulrich Kohler, said: “Commissioning of the HIsarna pilot plant represents  a potentially key step towards a compact and low-cost ironmaking process with a  significantly reduced environmental impact.   The plant demonstrates one of the first and most promising ways in which  the European steel industry is developing breakthrough technologies in response  to the challenge of climate change.”

Funded jointly by ULCOS, the European Commission  and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, a HIsarna™ pilot plant is being  commissioned at Tata Steel’s IJmuiden steelworks in the Netherlands.  The 60,000tpa plant is intended to allow the  two constituent technologies to be tested in combination.

Over the next few years this facility will be used  to optimise the HIsarna™ technology.   Beyond the IJmuiden pilot plant, a longer development path is foreseen  which will involve a scaled-up version of the smelter.  The international project team, led by Mr  Koen Meijer of Tata Steel RD&T, has members from Tata Steel, Rio Tinto and  ULCOS.