Largest iron briquette plant in the world opens in Coastal Bend

A new steel plant estimated to cost $800 million officially opened for business in Gregory-Portland this week. Voestalpine, an Austrian-based company known worldwide for its steel used in railroads, airplanes and construction, held ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the site Oct. 26. Those attending tapped their feet to the rhythm of a polka band while craning their necks to see the 450-foot reduction tower that pins this 480 acres of property to the map. The land is owned by the Port of Corpus Christi and leased to the company.
The direct-reduction iron-manufacturing plant was five years in the making and is a major economic milestone for the Coastal Bend, said Wolfgang Eder, CEO of the Voestalpine Group.
"Today’s opening of the direct reduction plant in Corpus Christi is an important step for—and into—the future of our company," Edar said. "The new plant will not only secure the Austrian Voestalpine sites by supplying premium pre-materials for steel production, it will also contribute significantly to further strengthening our position in the NAFTA region. Furthermore, over the long term it offers us new technological options for decarbonizing steel production."
Employing 190 permanent workers, the plant is expected to produce 2 million metric tons of purified iron briquettes a year. The briquettes will be shipped around the world and used in producing high-quality airplanes, trains, race cars and more. 
Long-term economic gains are estimated to be $600 million over the next 10 years in direct benefit to the local community. 
High-grade free pellets will be brought into the plant, where they will be turned into purified iron briquettes that are then shipped to steel mills in Linz and Donawitz, Austria. The company will use seawater from Corpus Christi Bay as a coolant and natural gas from Eagle Ford Shale in the iron-reduction tower. The plant is the largest of its kind in the world, Eder said.