Anatoly Sedykh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OMK JSC, and Antonello Colussi, President of Danieli Russia, signed an agreement on cooperation on the construction of an electrometallurgical complex with direct-reduced iron technology on September 1 at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.
According to its environmental and technological parameters, it is the first of its kind not only in Russia, but also in Europe. The unique complex will be implemented in the Vyksa city district (Nizhny Novgorod Region) by the Ecolant project company (Ecolant LLC, affiliated with OMK JSC). The complex will supply products to the enterprises of the United Metallurgical Company and other consumers.
Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Gleb Nikitin, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Pasquale Terraciano, Italian Ambassador to Moscow, Natalia OMK, Chairman of the Management Board, participated in the event on the conclusion of a cooperation agreement with Danieli. Eremina, Head of the Asset Development and Investment Department of OMK JSC Dmitry Chernyshev. By videoconference, the participants were joined by Italian colleagues — Giulia Massimiliano Fedriga, Governor of the Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venice, Gianpietro Benedetti, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Danieli, and other Danieli executives.
The complex project includes a modern production of metallized pellets using DRI (Direct Reduced Iron, Direct Reduced Iron) technology with a capacity of up to 2.5 million tons per year in conjunction with an electrometallurgical complex for the production of steel with a capacity of up to;1.8 million tons per year. The total investment volume is about 150 billion rubles (including VAT). The production is planned to be put into operation in the second half of 2024.
Its technological capabilities will allow us to produce a wide range of steel products for pipe and wheel rolling industries. The steel obtained in chipboard will have three main casting formats— in thick slab, in round wheel blank and round tube blank. The products will be delivered to the Vyksa Metallurgical Plant (JSC "VMZ", part of OMK) and sold on the market. A unique example of the production of products with the highest requirements for purity of steel and its quality in arc steelmaking furnaces will be a thick slab for pipes of large diameter (TBD) for underwater pipelines. At VMZ, the slab will be used for production of thick-rolled steel at own mill-5000 and TBD, round billet- for production of railway wheels and production of seamless pipes.
The technology being implemented belongs to the category of "green" — the most modern technical solutions, which allows for a 70% reduction in CO2 carbon dioxide emissions in comparison with traditional converter steel production technology, and is an important step in reducing the impact of metallurgical production on the environment. The project will meet not only the current, but also the prospective requirements of the European Union for environmental friendliness while improving the quality and operational characteristics of products. In addition, for the first time in the country, gas purification technology with an efficiency of 99.5% will be applied. All this will minimize the impact on the atmospheric air of the city of Vyksa.
Danieli company will supply complete solutions and the main equipment for the electrometallurgical complex. Their including the installation of direct reduction of iron on the basis of ENERGIRON technology, a system for feeding hot pellets into an arc steelmaking furnace (chipboard), chipboard with a volume of 180 tons, a "ladle furnace" unit, a vacuum cleaner, a gas cleaning system and a continuous round casting machine billets, as well as water treatment systems. The amount of the contract for the supply is more than 400 million euros. Being the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient in Russia, the technology will also have the shortest production chain. For the first time in Russia, the "iron ore-steel" technology with continuous supply of hot reconstituted pellets to an arc steel furnace will be presented at one production site.
"This project is a pilot for the Russian metallurgy, an example of the so—called modern "green" metallurgy. The project provides solutions that are aimed at significantly reducing the negative impact on the environment, its implementation will allow to preserve the environmental friendliness of production while maintaining and improving the quality of products. Investments in the project will amount to 150 billion rubles, the start of production is scheduled for the end of 2024, the transaction volume is more than 400 million euros. In addition, the implementation of such a large—scale project will lead to additional development of such sectors of the economy as mining, mechanical engineering, non-ferrous metallurgy, electric power, gas industry, transport sector of the economy," said Denis Manturov, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.
"The construction of an electrometallurgical complex in Vyksa opens up great opportunities for the development of industry. The choice of the Nizhny Novgorod region for the implementation of the project once again confirms that investors are comfortable working here. Of course, the creation of such production is the key to the socio-economic stability of the region. We are talking about the creation of 2 thousand new jobs with a high salary, an increase in tax deductions and additional sales markets. The production is planned to be created with the use of advanced technologies in;in the field of energy conservation, environmental protection. According to its environmental parameters, the project is an example of modern "green" metallurgy. Thanks to the new complex, the Nizhny Novgorod Region will be able to significantly increase investments, form new cooperative chains of suppliers, consumers of goods and additionally load production in related sectors of the Russian economy," said Gleb Nikitin, Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
"The new project is a key milestone in the pan-European metallurgical field. This is a step towards a more environmentally friendly metallurgy, steel production with a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, is the first of its kind in Europe. In addition to confirming Danieli's proactive approach to the constant search for new technologies, this project highlights the innovative spirit of the Vyksa metallurgists team, which, when implementing such projects, has always had the courage to choose a strategy characterized by the construction of plants based on innovative technologies. For us, this project is a further demonstration of our commitment to the motto: "Danieli is an innovative and reliable partner for achieving leadership positions in metallurgy," said Gianpietro Benedetti, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Danieli.
"A large-scale project for the construction of an electrometallurgical complex with the technology of reconstituted iron is unique in many ways. It is of great strategic importance for the economy: it will contribute to the growth of domestic consumption of natural gas and iron ore — resources that our country is rich in, and the growth of the share of production in Russia of high-grade products necessary for Russian oil and gas and transport companies and competitive in the global market. This is an example of the best "green" technology available today, which can give a new development to the domestic steel industry and improve the environment in industrial regions," said Anatoly Sedykh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of OMK.