Cliffs to use DOE grant to replace Middletown BF with DRI, EMF plant

If awarded the DOE funding, Cliffs will build a 2.5-million-ton-per-year hydrogen-ready DRI plant and two 120 MW EMFs, it said in a statement on Monday.

Cliffs said the Middletown mill’s existing annual raw steel production capacity of about 3 million short tons would be maintained with the upgrades, noting that the site will no longer use coke for its iron production.

As the DRI plant can use standard, blast-furnace grade pellets, which will reduce the amount of prime scrap required for the steelmaking, Cliffs said it will be able to maintain the quality of the steel produced and sustain its position as a major supplier to the automotive market.

Additionally, the facility overhaul will allow for the plant to be fueled by natural gas, a mix of natural gas and clean hydrogen, or clean hydrogen, Cliffs said. Depending on the process, this will reduce the current iron-making carbon intensity by 50-90%, or even more.

EMF technology is “somewhat exotic,” CRU principal consultant Brian Schwadron told SMU.

“Cliffs’ EMF terminology is likely what is known as a submerged arc furnace (SAF). Although SAFs have not previously been used in the production of carbon steel, SAFs have been used for many years in the production of ferroalloys,” Schwadron explained.

“ThyssenKrupp has announced that they will be implementing this exact technology in their European plants starting in 2025, and several other companies are known to be considering the same. Cliffs is the first producer in North America to announce a transition to this technology,” Schwadron added.

Cliffs anticipates its net capital outlay from the DRI/EMF project to be “approximately $1.3 billion, net of capital avoidance on the existing blast furnace and coke plants” from 2025 through 2029.

Upon completion of the project, the No. 3 BF at Middletown Works will be demolished, a spokeswoman for Cliffs told SMU. She said this will be a multiyear project and is unable to provide an exact time frame at this time.

Butler Works electrical steel project

The DOE also selected another Cliffs project for funding award negotiations.

Selected to receive a grant of up to $75 million to assist with the production of electrical steels was the company’s Butler Works in Pennsylvania. The selected project would replace two existing natural-gas fired high-temperature slab reheat furnaces with four electrified induction slab reheat furnaces.

The project “plans to electrify the only production facility for high-silicon grain oriented electrical steel (GOES) in the US,” according to a DOE summary of the project.

Cliffs said its net cost for the Butler Works project would be approximately $100 million over four years.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected from its original posting. Cleveland-Cliffs is not planning to install any electric-arc furances (EAFs) at its Middletown Works.