Direct reduced iron (DRI) plants are expanding in the global steel industry. The accelerating movement towards reducing carbon emissions, and the increase in the capacity of DRI modules have renewed interest in the sector. In addition, hydrogen reduction as a production facility has been also attracted focus. The DRI production process has been introduced mainly in oil-producing countries. Now it is spreading to other regions who are looking to slash their carbon emissions.
DRI production has exceeded the 100Mt level for
the third consecutive year. In 2020, production totalled 107Mt, despite the
impact of the covid-19 pandemic. AME expects DRI production will reach 135Mt
in 2025 at a CAGR of 4.8%.
Historically, India and Iran are major DRI
product countries, accounting for both ~30% of global DRI production output. Recently,
production has started expanding throughout North Africa such as Egypt's Ezz
Steel, Algeria's Algerian Qatari Steel (AQS), and Turkey-based Tosyali
Holdings' Tosyari Algerie Iron Steel.
Russia