Paulwurth and Midrex Technology will collaborate in the engineering, procurement and construction of the Midrex Flex Direct Reduction plant with a capacity of 2.5 million t/year for Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, located in Duisburg, Germany.

The plant will initially operate on reformed natural gas containing 50% or more hydrogen (H2) at the inlet of the furnace until sufficient H2 is available. The operation will be switched to 100% H2 afterwards.

Furthermore, the direct reduction plant will be combined with advanced SMS group melt technology to significantly increase operating efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 3.5 million tonnes annually. The plant is scheduled to start operating at the end of 2026.

MIDREX Flex technology provides the flexibility to operate on different percentages of natural gas (NG) and hydrogen (H2), up to 100% H2.

ThyssenKrupp will be allowed to use natural gas, which significantly reduces CO2 compared to a conventional coke oven until hydrogen H2 is available in sufficient quantities, which is expected in 2027.

The hydrogen-based direct reduction plant is a significant step in ThyssenKrupp’s integrated steelworks transition to a climate-neutral production site.

“Midrex is proud to be a leader in technology, and with our partners in the SMS Group, we are proving leadership in green steel production,” said Stephen Montague, President and CEO of Midrex.

Moreover, we have decarbonisation solutions that can be tailored to each steelmaker’s situation to ensure long-term sustainability while contributing to profitability in the near term.

Midrex and Paulwurth are collaborating on the world’s first all-green steel plant H2 Green Steel in Boden, Sweden. MIDREX H2 ™ technology will be used to produce 2.1 million tonnes/year of HDRI and hot-broken iron (HBI). The plant is expected to start production in 2025 and increase production during 2026.