Vale opens the world’s first green briquette factory

Brazilian mining giant Vale inaugurated the world’s first “green briquette” factory on Tuesday in Vitória, the capital of the southeastern state of Espírito Santo. 

Green briquettes are blocks of compressed iron ore that can be used in blast furnaces, a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals. 

They can also be used in direct reduction furnaces, which use natural gas to produce hot briquetted iron (HBI), an intermediate product between iron ore and steel. In 2022, Vale signed agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman to create industrial complexes for the production of HBI.

Officially launched in 2021, after nearly two decades of studies, Vale’s green briquette is part of the company’s strategy to reduce scope 3 emissions in its value chain by 15 percent by 2035, making it a key product in the decarbonization of the steel industry.

A second plant will be opened in early 2024. Together, the two units, in which Vale has invested BRL 1.2 billion (USD 240 million), will be able to produce up to 6 million tons per year. Next year they will produce less, around 2.5 million tons, and gradually increase this volume in the following years. 

The company says it already has a pipeline of more than one year’s guaranteed sales with customers in Europe and the Middle East, among other regions.

A third unit in Minas Gerais is also under construction. In the long term, Vale expects to produce more than 50 million tons of green briquettes per year, potentially reducing emissions by 6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year (MTCO₂e/year) through this technology. 

This is because Vale’s green briquette emits less particulate matter and gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide compared to traditional pelletizing processes, in addition to eliminating the use of water in its production.

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