Advancements in Transition to Green Steel in Europe through Direct Reduced Iron Production

This article describes the current situation in Europe regarding methods of steel production and transition to green steel, produced in a sustainable way, i.e. with renewable energy and without fossil fuels, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study focuses on direct reduction (DR) as potentially the best technology to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in the steel industry. The main commercial processes of direct reduced iron (DRI) production such as MIDREX, Energiron, PERED, SL/RN, Fastmet and Circored are described and compared in terms of the quality of finished products, operational conditions and efficiency. The article presents recent statistics regarding the production capacity of DRI, comparing Europe with the rest of the world. Plans concerning the construction of DRI plants across Europe are summarised alongside other projects aimed to support the process of transition to green steel by providing environmentally friendly materials or increasing efficiency of already implemented technologies by recycling waste materials.