Metso Corporate Newsroom News 2024 Metso opens DRI Smelting Furnace pilot facility in Pori, Finland
Press release October 25, 2024

Metso opens DRI Smelting Furnace pilot facility in Pori, Finland

Metso Corporation’s press release on October 25, 2024, at 1 p.m. EEST

Metso has opened a state-of-the-art DRI (direct reduced iron) Smelting Furnace pilot facility in Pori, Finland. The new facility, opened on October 25, 2024, will allow customer-specific pilot-scale testing to demonstrate the applicability and results of industrial-scale DRI smelting with Metso’s Outotec® DRI Smelting Furnace technology.

“This new pilot facility is yet another example of Metso’s cutting-edge solutions that support the minerals and metals processing industry in the quest to implement new sustainable technologies. Metso’s DRI Smelting Furnace substitutes traditional blast furnaces used in iron and steel making and enables a significant reduction of emissions when combined with a direct reduction plant,” notes Jyrki Makkonen, Vice President, Smelting at Metso.

“The investment into the DRI Smelting Furnace pilot facility supports the rapidly increasing customer demand for reliable testing when planning a transition to emissions-free smelting. With the pilot facility, we can reliably test various types of customer materials for industrial scale-up. The construction of the pilot plant and equipment installations have gone extremely rapidly and smoothly. Hot commissioning of the equipment will take place soon, and then we will be ready for customer testing,” explains Mari Lindgren, Director, Smelting Research & Development at Metso.

A breakthrough technology

The new high-capacity DRI Smelting Furnace, launched in 2022, is one of Metso’s breakthrough technologies and a major Planet Positive solution to support decarbonizing the iron and steel industry.

Combined with a direct reduction plant, Metso’s DRI Smelting Furnace substitutes traditional blast furnaces in the production of hot metal, making it an optimal solution for primary steel producers who are aiming for a significant reduction in their CO2 emissions with minimal changes to the rest of the steel plant. The furnace can be integrated with Metso’s hydrogen-based CircoredTM process or other direct reduction processes.

More information about Metso’s Outotec® DRI Smelting Furnace is available on our website.

Further information, please contact:

Mari Lindgren, Director, Smelting Research & Development, Metso, tel. +358 40 829 7293, email: mari.lindgren(at)metso.com

Helena Marjaranta, Vice President, Communications and Brand, Metso, tel. +358 20 484 3212, email: helena.marjaranta(at)metso.com

Metso is a frontrunner in sustainable technologies, end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally. We improve our customers’ energy and water efficiency, increase their productivity, and reduce environmental risks with our product and service expertise. We are the partner for positive change. 

Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Metso employs over 17,000 people in close to 50 countries and sales for 2023 were about EUR 5.4 billion. The company is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. Metso.com, x.com/metsoofficial

Metso opens DRI Smelting Furnace pilot facility in Pori