Alleima's Kanthal division and Danieli will supply a pilot-scale electric process gas heater to be installed at Emsteel's Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) plant in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to electrify a part of their existing heating system. The heater is based on Prothal® DH technology and will be the first electric process gas heater for DRI that Kanthal supplies for commercial use - an important step in the ongoing development project. Delivery is planned for the beginning of 2026.
Emsteel is UAE's largest steel and building materials manufacturer. The Emsteel plant in Abu Dhabi produces quality long products – heavy sections, bars and wire rods – and features an Energiron DRI plant. By installing a 1-megawatt size electric process gas heater, supplied by Kanthal and Danieli, the company will take another step towards making this low-emission plant even more environmentally friendly.
Prothal® DH has been developed and tested by Kanthal and is now being prepared for commercialization together with the strategic partner Danieli. When fully scaled up, this technology has the potential to completely remove the CO2 emissions from the heating process while enhancing energy efficiency.
"This pilot is an important step in the development and industrialization of full-scale electric process gas heaters for DRI and other ironmaking applications. We're proud to see that the technology is now being implemented in an end-user production setting, which will enable further opportunities for future sales and commercialization," says Robert Stål, President of the Kanthal division.
Kanthal and Danieli signed a strategic partnership agreement to develop and industrialize full-scale electric process gas heaters for DRI and other ironmaking applications in 2024. The heating solution is being developed for hydrogen, natural gas and combinations, thereby enabling retrofitting of existing DRI plants. By installing this technology in Energiron hydrogen-ready DRI plants, fully emission-free DRI production can be achieved. Even for natural gas based DRI plants, a more than 30% reduction of CO2 emissions will be achieved when electrifying the heating system.
