The tower of voestalpine’s HBI plant in Gregory near Corpus Christi is now complete. Production is expected to begin within months. Courtesy photo
The heart of voestalpine’s HBI plant near Corpus Christi is now complete as construction of the $750 million facility continues. The finishing touch on the 450-foot-tall reduction tower — its roof — was installed in mid-January.
Natural gas will be used in the tower to reduce iron-ore pellets and press them into hot briquetted iron (HBI) that will then be used to manufacture steel for building cars and airplanes. Sixty percent of the HBI produced in Texas will be sold to external customers, while 40 percent will be delivered to voestalpine sites in Linz and Donawitz, Austria.
Pronounced fursh-tahl-peen-ah, the company chose Gregory over 17 sites in eight countries.
"In the end, the La Quinta Trade Gateway in San Patricio County just outside the city of Corpus Christi proved to be the best fit in terms of logistics, energy supply, a well-educated workforce and the political environment," reads a company statement.
With the tower work now done, a two-state commissioning phase will begin to complete what will become the largest plant of its kind in the world. The plant’s own port will include two unloading cranes and one ship loader expected to handle 120,000-metric-ton cargo ships. Three million tons of iron pellets are expected to be processed at the plant each year, resulting in 2 million tons of HBI.
Some 2,000 workers are currently active at the site, which should be completed sometime this spring. Production is scheduled to get underway by mid 2016.
Company officials have promised the plant will include energy efficient practices for cooling and heating that will be 40 percent more efficient than similar, older plants.
