The first issue that one battles with, while either setting up a new steel plant or while expanding the capacity, is the choice of steelmaking route to be adopted. Both the EAF & BOF routes have their pros and cons. The FINEX technology developed by Primetals in conjunction with POSCO claims to offer relief from high cost steel making. The big question is “Is FINEX technology the future of low cost steel making”?

The steel industry faces many challenges due to rising energy demands, continuous price increases for coking coal, natural gas & raw materials, and the steadily decreasing quality & quantity of iron ore.

The conventional blast furnace route is both costly and energy intensive, making it difficult to fulfill ever stricter environmental regulations and achieve sustainable economic competitiveness. On the other hand, EAF has large dependence on good quality scrap, HBI and Pig iron.

To combat these issues, Primetals Technologies and the Korean steel producer POSCO have jointly developed innovative technology for the production of hot-metal – based on the direct use of fine ore and non-coking coal, known as “FINEX”.

What is FINEX Technology?

FINEX® is based on the direct use of iron ore fines and non-coking coal while eliminating the coke-making and sintering processes, which are most critical to the conventional blast furnace process. Combining these two decisive advantages leads to lower production costs and the reduction of environmental emissions in comparison with the conventional blast furnace route.