Jindal Steel and Power and Rio Tinto have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance commercialization of the HIsmelt, also known as high-intensity smelting technology.
HIsmelt is the first commercially available direct smelting process that is used to produce iron from the ore and it will be utilized in a completely integrated steel making plant. The technology provides major economical and environmental advantages to the steel industry. It directly smelts iron ore using non-coking coals.
The agreement between both the companies includes relocation of the Kwinana HIsmelt facility from Australia to JSPL’s existing facility in Orissa, India. The transferred facility will be completely managed by JSPL. Rio Tinto and JSPL will jointly work to enhance and market the technology. The Kwinana HIsmelt facility is operated by a joint venture including Rio Tinto, Nucor, Mitsubishi and Shougang.
JSPL is a division of the Jindal Group and it produces 3Mt of steel per year and 1,800 MW of power. The partnership combines the HIsmelt into the existing steel works in India. Local Indian non-coking coals and iron ore fines can be utilized with the HIsmelt technology.
It is expected that the HIsmelt process will continue to be the future for making iron from ore, especially in areas having a higher need to decrease the environmental footprint. Thus, the high-density smelting technology is ideal to the Indian resources and to steelmakers like JSPL.