MAEGMA Minerals, Primetals to build HBI plant in Malaysia

MAEGMA Minerals, a subsidiary of the Malaysian industrial conglomerate Melewar Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Primetals Technologies, part of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to establish a MIDREX Flex plant with a capacity of 2 million tonnes/year of hot briquetted iron (HBI) in Perak, Malaysia, according to a new release from Primetals.

The MIDREX Flex plant is expected to help MAEGMA cater to the growing demand for high-quality HBI in Southeast Asia, and its operations are scheduled to start in 2029, the company said.

HBI is essentially direct reduced iron (DRI) processed into briquettes that can be used in both electric-arc-furnaces (EAFs) and blast furnaces (BFs) to reduce carbon emissions, Mysteel Global notes.

Midrex, the global leader in DRI technology, will help build the plant using its MIDREX FLEX technology, which allows operation with a natural gas-hydrogen mix, cutting carbon emissions by over 50% compared to BF-based ironmaking. Hydrogen use could eventually reach 100%, and pellet feed will come from a nearby major miner to reduce transport costs.

Elsewhere in Malaysia, ESteel Sabah, a subsidiary of Singapore's Green Esteel Pte Ltd., is also undertaking a three-phase green steel project in Sabah, Mysteel Global noted.

Its first phase of HBI production using natural gas has just been launched recently, designed with a capacity of 2.5 million t/y, according to local media. The following two phases will include the construction of DRI facilities, and when completed, the project's total HBI capacity could reach 7.5 million t/y, making it the largest green steel project in Southeast Asia.

Written by Irene Zhuang, zhuangailing@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com