ERG to Build $1.2 Billion Hydrogen-Ready HBI Plant in Kazakhstan
Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has signed a strategic agreement with Primetals Technologies (Austria) and Midrex Technologies, Inc. (USA) to construct Kazakhstan’s first hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant with an annual capacity of 2 million tons. The $1.2 billion facility is expected to be commissioned in 2029 and will serve both domestic and international markets.
The MIDREX Flex plant will be one of the largest next-generation metallurgy complexes in Central Asia, producing HBI with 93.5% metallization and 90% iron content. It will be hydrogen-ready, allowing future transition to low-carbon production.
Employing MIDREX direct reduction technology, the project will replace coke with natural gas, reducing emissions by more than 50% compared to traditional blast furnace methods. It will process iron ore pellets from JSC SSGPO, part of ERG, with potential integration into a future steel shop.
ERG CEO Shukhrat Ibragimov said the project will create over 1,000 jobs. Midrex CEO K.C. Woody highlighted the company’s role as the global leader in HBI production, while Primetals EVP Andreas Viehboeck described the project as a step that “propels Kazakhstan’s metals industry into a new era of sustainable development.”
Photo credit: ERG.
