Brazil Iron’s green iron project promises to put Bahia and Brazil on the world map of the decarbonization of the steel industry. With production expected to start in 2030 and investment of more than R$1.7 billion in research, the initiative will be the first in the country to manufacture Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) – a product known as green iron – with zero net greenhouse gas emissions.

“Ferro Verde is a decarbonization project: period,” summarizes Emerson das Neves Souza, the company’s Vice President of Institutional Relations. HBI, he explains. It is a product of very high purity – at least 93% iron – that can replace traditional ore in the manufacture of steel without the use of coal, using only electric furnaces powered by renewable energy. The result is a clean, efficient and cost-effective process. “It’s green back and forth,” Emerson says. “Backwards, because their production uses renewable energy; forward, because it helps to reduce emissions from the steel industry, which today account for 8% of global CO₂”.

The path to this innovation began eight years ago, with the discovery of high-purity iron deposits in the region of Piatã, Abaíra and Jussiape, in the Chapada Diamantina. The project foresees three processing plants: the first, located in Piatã, will produce purified pellet feed; the second and third, in the port surroundings of Bahia, will carry out the final stages of transformation until reaching the green iron briquette. The last unit will be built with technology licensed from the North American Midrex, the world leader in the production of HBI. “We are going to build here a plant identical to the most advanced one that exists in the world today”, says Emerson.

With the support of the federal and state governments, Brazil Iron estimates to start implementation as early as 2026. The goal is to reach 5 million tons of HBI per year, which represents a significant share of global production – which, in 2024, totaled only 35 million tons.

Source: Brasil Mineral Magazine nº 454 – Signus Editora