For Tenova, this is more than a research partnership—it is, as Stefano Maggiolino, President and CEO of Tenova HYL, put it, "a market project before anything else." Speaking alongside Jorge Eugenio Martínez Miramontes, Commercial Director at Tenova HYL, he explained that the motivation shared by the consortium partners goes far beyond experimentation.

"To the Australian iron ore suppliers —BHP, Rio Tinto—it's important to prove to the market, especially to China, that Australian ore can be used in a DRI process coupled with a smelter to make the same hot metal that traditional blast furnaces now produce with coal," Maggiolino explained.

The project marks a decisive step toward adapting Australia's vast hematite ore resources to low-carbon steelmaking routes and consolidates Tenova's leadership within the Techint Group's energy transition portfolio.

The NeoSmelt pilot is being funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for its Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase and supported by the Western Australian Government. Designed to be the first DRI plant ever built in Australia, it will have a capacity of around 50,000 tonnes of DRI per year, feeding an electric smelting furnace (ESF) to produce roughly 30–40,000 tonnes of molten iron annually. With the FEED phase scheduled to run through early 2026, the Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected later that year, with start-up operations targeted for 2028.

For Tenova, the project is an opportunity to validate its ENERGIRON DRI technology, co-developed with Danieli, in new geological and industrial conditions. "It's a great source of pride for us," said Maggiolino. "Together with Brazil, Australia is the world's largest producer of iron ore. That they're carrying out the first real hydrogen-ready reduction project there with us is a significant achievement."

At the heart of the NeoSmelt pilot is ENERGIRON, a process capable of operating on both natural gas and hydrogen without an external reformer. The innovation lies in the dual-function reactor, which performs both reforming and reduction when natural gas is present and only reduction when the feedstock is pure hydrogen.

"Our process is completely flexible in the way it shifts from natural gas to hydrogen, basically only changing certain process parameters," explained Maggiolino. "You can shift the gas mix by roughly 10 percent an hour directly from the control room, so in eight hours, you can go from zero to 80 percent hydrogen."

This operational agility gives steelmakers a practical bridge through the energy transition. Martínez underlined the cost logic: "Hydrogen cost is still not fully competitive for an economically viable DRI production, but natural gas can serve as the transition fuel. The plant is prepared for using hydrogen whenever the customer decides, so it's an immediate cut in carbon footprint and an option for deeper decarbonization later."

By eliminating the external reformer, equipment that both increases capital costs and limits fuel flexibility, ENERGIRON reduces investment requirements and maintenance complexity. It also simplifies future retrofits, a major consideration as hydrogen prices fall and carbon prices rise.

ENERGIRON's pedigree is impressive: the HYL process was developed in Monterrey in 1957 and later co-evolved with Danieli. Today, there are tens of commercial modules worldwide. Since 1998, "Zero Reformer" configurations have been operating commercially in different markets, with hydrogen-enriched runs up and running in China and the Middle East.

NeoSmelt extends this record by tackling Pilbara hematite and goethite ores, which have traditionally challenged DRI processes that favor higher-grade magnetite. The pilot project aims to demonstrate that these Australian ores can yield highly metallized, high-carbon DRI suitable for smelting into hot metal, which is critical for Asia-Pacific markets seeking to decarbonize without making sizeable beneficiation investments. These are about improving the mineral's value by eliminating gangue minerals, creating a higher-grade product (metal concentrate) and a waste stream (tailings).

"Producing high-carbon DRI isn't new for us as we've done it for more than 25 years in Monterrey," Martínez said. "For NeoSmelt, it was essential to show we could combine that with hydrogen readiness. In fact, the technical challenge wasn't the hardest part since a DRI with high carbon content is easily produced with the Zero Reformer configuration."

Tenova's current contract covers basic engineering and is scheduled for completion in February–March 2026. "With that, we'll be ready to submit all information required by NeoSmelt by around March or April, leading up to the FID later in 2026," Martínez explained. "Then comes the supply contract for all the DRI plant equipment—our ultimate goal as NeoSmelt's technology partner."

Beyond the engineering, Tenova and the consortium are defining the licensing and intellectual property framework that will govern technology deployment. "We have one foot in, but we want to be fully inside," Maggiolino said. "Finalizing the supply and license agreements is the next big step, and we expect to close that by the second quarter of next year."

Australia's industrial geography, encompassing vast ore reserves, abundant renewable potential, and proximity to Asian demand, makes it a logical testbed for green-iron technologies.

Maggiolino described the strategic fit vividly: "Australia exports ore to China, the biggest steelmaker in the world, yet its own potential in renewable energy remains untapped. If it becomes a hub for low-cost hydrogen, proving our technology there could set a global benchmark."

The project dovetails with Canberra's goal of transforming Australia into a renewable-energy superpower, converting solar and wind resources into hydrogen for domestic use and export. A successful NeoSmelt pilot could anchor a local low-carbon iron industry, creating a new value chain that adds processing value to raw ore before export, thereby reducing global emissions.

For the Techint Group, Tenova's selection is strategically significant. It validates years of investment in the DRI → ESF route, a flow sheet that can deliver the same hot metal output as the blast-furnace → basic-oxygen-furnace (BF-BOF) route but with far lower emissions. The NeoSmelt pilot, which couples ENERGIRON DRI with an electric smelting furnace, effectively proves a "Pilbara-compatible" low-carbon pathway. It's a concept highly relevant to Techint's integrated steel and energy operations and that strengthens the Group's broader decarbonization message.

Tenova's hydrogen-ready technology supports customers across Techint companies as they navigate the complexities of the CSRD, GRI, and ResponsibleSteel frameworks, positioning the Group as a provider of bankable transition technologies. "It's not just about the hydrogen itself—it's about flexibility," Maggiolino emphasized. "Customers can operate today with natural gas, cut their carbon footprint significantly, and move to hydrogen when it's ready. That makes the investment viable now, not just in the distant future."

In lifecycle terms, the DRI + ESF route powered by natural gas already cuts CO₂ emissions by roughly 40–50% compared with conventional blast-furnace ironmaking. When operated on green hydrogen, emissions can fall by up to 95%. Combined with carbon-capture readiness, another built-in feature of the ENERGIRON process, the potential for near-zero-emission iron production becomes a reality rather than a theoretical possibility.