Circored plant (Trinidad)

Perhaps 25 years too early: in 1999 the first Cirored plant for the direct reduction of fine iron ore with 100% hydrogen was successfully commissioned and reached after a few months the design capacity under stable operation.

The Circored Plant in Trinidad represents a pioneering industrial-scale application of hydrogen-based direct reduction technology for iron ore fines. Developed already in the 1990es, the Circored process was conceived to address the growing demand for cost-effective, low-carbon steelmaking by directly utilizing iron ore fines, thereby eliminating the need for energy-intensive pelletizing or sintering steps.

Commissioned in 1999 for Cliffs and Associates Limited, the Trinidad demonstration plant was designed with a nominal hot briquetted iron (HBI) production capacity of 500,000 tons HBI per year. The process utilized a two-stage fluidized bed reactor system, with hydrogen as the sole reductant, achieving metallization degrees above 93% and briquette densities consistently greater than 5.2 g/cm³. Over several months, the facility successfully produced more than 300,000 tonnes of high-quality, carbon-free HBI. A key milestone was the successful use of Circored HBI in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in the United States, confirming the product’s suitability for downstream steelmaking and validating the process’s technical viability. 

Despite meeting all process and product quality targets, the plant’s operation was curtailed after a short period due to external factors. These included multiple changes in ownership, adverse market conditions, and ultimately, the loss of competitively priced natural gas supply to Trinidad — a critical input for Hydrogen production and process energy. The cessation of natural gas availability led to the permanent closure of the Circored plant and other direct reduction facilities in the region. 

The Trinidad Circored project stands as a proven reference for hydrogen-based direct reduction, demonstrating both technical and operational success, and providing valuable insights for future decarbonized steelmaking initiatives.