In an announcement Wednesday, SMS group said the order is its largest single order in its history and will bring about one of the world’s largest industrial decarbonization projects to date. 

“This project means a great deal to us. thyssenkrupp and SMS have been working together closely for many decades now. We are looking forward to taking responsibility for this forward-looking project as well,” said SMS group chief executive Burkhard Dahmen. 

“We are also delighted that our technology, know-how and expertise in project management will support the green transformation at Germany’s biggest steel producer. We all know: this is an important milestone on the road to a green metals industry.”

The core of the order consists of a hydrogen-capable, direct reduction furnace based on Midrex Flex technology and two adjacent melting units. The DRI plant will be able to produce 2.5 million metric tons annually for thyssenkrupp’s Duisburg plant in Germany. 

“Positioning the two melters immediately adjacent to the direct reduction plant allows the solid input stock produced there to be converted into molten iron immediately; this makes the entire process particularly efficient,” SMS group said. 

The order also includes ancillary equipment such as a slag granulation plant and water recycling plant. Start-up is scheduled for the end of 2026. 

SMS group said it will build the plant on a engineering, procurement and construction basis. Detailed planning and site preparation will commence immediately. However, a final go-ahead is pending EU approval of public funding for the project and a final funding decision. Both are expected in the coming months, SMS group said. 

“With this contract award, we are now embarking on the implementation and industrialization of our transformation. It is a historic day for thyssenkrupp Steel and good news for industrial climate change mitigation – since, just by itself, our first direct reduction plant will enable us to avoid emitting 3.5 million metric tons of CO₂,” said thyssenkrupp Steel chief executive Bernhard Osburg. 

“We are very pleased that we have SMS as our partner for the technological leap into hydrogen-based steel production. Together, we intend to demonstrate that an innovative and sustainable transformation of the steel industry is possible in Germany and Europe. We are thus creating the basis for tomorrow’s green steel markets,” he added.