According to the project, the enterprise will have a production capacity of 2.5 million tons per year

Italian steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) and DRI d’Italia, a subsidiary of the state investment agency Invitalia, have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a direct reduction plant (DRI) at the Taranto site. This is reported by SteelOrbis.

According to the project, the new DRI plant will have a production capacity of 2.5 million tons per year. It will also include infrastructure for iron ore storage and transportation. However, the new construction is likely to require some adjustments to the structure of the existing production site. The costs of this, which are yet to be specified, will be covered by public funds in the amount of €1 billion.

According to ADI, the memorandum of understanding is an important step towards decarbonization, which will be completed by the buyer of the complex.

On October 15, 2024, Acciaierie d’Italia resumed operation of blast furnace No. 1 at its Taranto facility. As the company said in a statement the day before, this is an important step in ADI’s recovery plan and confirms the commitment of the special commissioners, the Italian government and the company to continue to restore production at the steel plant.

Prior to the launch of BF No. 1, only Blast Furnace No. 4 was in operation in Taranto. Blast Furnace No. 5 has been out of service for several years, while Blast Furnaces No. 1 and No. 2 were shut down a few months ago.

ADI plans to reach production of 1.9-2.2 million tons of steel in 2024. However, sources believe that actual production will be lower. Blast furnace No. 2 is scheduled to restart in the first quarter of 2025.