Italy-based plantmaker Tenova has announced that US-based NEMO Industries has selected the ENERGIRON direct reduced iron (DRI) technology, jointly developed by Tenova and Danieli, for its planned Ironworks I pig iron project in Louisiana.
The ENERGIRON Zero Reformer plant will have an annual capacity of 2.5 million mt of hot and cold high-carbon DRI, which will feed NEMO Industries' electric smelting-based pig iron production for the US and global markets. Tenova will begin front-end engineering design work as the project advances toward a final investment decision expected in December 2027.
The facility will include the HYTEMP hot DRI transport system and will be designed to enable the future integration of carbon capture solutions and hydrogen use as related infrastructure develops along the US Gulf Coast.
“This agreement gives NEMO Industries the technical foundation in terms of capital and operating expenditures, carbon content and sustainability to prove its DRI-based pig iron model,” Stefano Maggiolino, president and CEO of Tenova HYL, said.
NEMO Industries co-founder and president Michael DuBose stated that the project would support the development of a secure, competitive and low-emission US pig iron supply chain, strengthening the domestic steel industry's resilience and reducing its dependence on imported raw materials.
