The world's largest direct reduction plant with an annual production capacity of 1.76 million mt of direct reduced iron (DRI) has been successfully started up by Siemens Metals Technologies for the Saudi Arabian steelmaker Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed).
The facility in question, located in Al-Jubail on the eastern seaboard of the Saudi Arabian peninsula, is part of a new Siemens-supplied steel mill which has recently commenced operations and which is capable of producing 1.4 million mt of flat products per annum.
The new DR plant is the fifth direct reduction plant in operation at Hadeed. Steel production at Hadeed is based on the melting of scrap and DRI in a ratio of approximately 25 percent scrap and 75 percent DRI.