According to Primetals, the briquetting plant will allow the facility to recycle roughly 160,000 metric tons of dusts, sludges and pellet fines per year. The briquettes it produces will be used as a substitute for pellets to make HBI.

Primetals and partner Midrex are engineering the HBI plant for voestalpine. The HBI plant will be capable of producing 2 million tons annually. Half of its production is intended for voestalpine’s Austrian steel works in Linz and Donawitz. The remainder will be sold on the market under long-term supply contracts.

Adding a briquetting plant to the facility will save on resources, as all byproducts will be recycled, Primetals said.

Under the order, Primetals will provide the process know-how and plant engineering; supply some of the equipment, including the electrical installation and automation systems; and commission the fines recycling plant.

The HBI facility is being built in Texas and is scheduled for start-up in 2016.