Calix has undertaken a Front-End Engineering and Design (FFED) study for a 30,000 tonne per annum Zero Emissions Steel Technology (ZESTY) Hydrogen Direct Reduced Iron (H-DRI) demonstration plant.
Key results:
- The FEED study estimates ZESTY can produce near-zero emissions hot briquetted iron (HBI) from low grade iron ore for ~AUD$630 800 per tonne of HBI.
- This cost is close to the range of existing, carbon-intensive HBI processing costs before any benefit of emissions reduction is accounted for.
- ZESTY would reduce the emissions intensity of reducing iron ore to metal iron from 1.89 tonnes of CO2 / tonne of iron to near zero. The reduction of iron ore to metal iron currently accounts for 80-85% of the steel industry’s carbon dioxide emissions.
- An expansive ore testing program demonstrated metallisation degrees of commercial grade for a range of ores, including low grade Australian hematite ore.
- ZESTY’s low cost of production is driven by efficient hydrogen use, efficient electric heating, and the elimination of additional processing steps.
- Further cost savings are expected as the technology is scaled and refined.
Report extract
Calix has undertaken a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study for a 30,000tpa equivalent hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) demonstration plant based on its Zero Emissions Steel Technology (ZESTY) with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The FEED study serves to define the scope of work and preliminary design for the ZESTY system to enable the project to proceed on a risked and costed basis, through development of capital and operating cost estimates (+/-25%). The cost estimates, combined with the FEED study’s technical outcomes, shall form the foundation for a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the project.
This document serves to summarise the work completed as part of the FEED study, including:
- General plant considerations including site layout, environmental considerations, permitting considerations and safety
- Process design including different operating regimes, venting, emergency response, startup, and shutdown
- Sizing of major equipment including the reactor and furnace using performance data from the pilot plant test work
- High level construction methodologies, mass estimates of equipment and steel work in order to plan and cost construction
- Technoeconomic modelling to assess the relative cost of the hydrogen and DRI based on predictions of real-world electricity grid pricings.