CWP Global and SNIM to produce green DRI in Mauritania

Mauritanian mining company SNIM and CWP Global, a developer of renewable energy projects, have signed a memorandum of understanding regarding their cooperation to produce sponge iron based on green hydrogen in Mauritania.

Together with Aman, CWP Global’s large-scale project for green hydrogen located in northwestern Mauritania, CWP Global states that a new production centre for direct reduced iron (DRI) with multiple DRI systems running on green hydrogen could turn several million tonnes of local raw iron ore into green hot briquetted iron (HBI) annually. This HBI is mainly intended for export to the European steel industry. According to CWP Global, Green HBI is a key component for decarbonising the steel industry and the company thus expects a strong demand in Europe. This project has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by millions of tonnes every year.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in early June at a meeting between SNIM and CWP Global in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. This meeting also involved a workshop attended by Mauritanian government representatives and managers of the metallurgical systems manufacturers Primetals Technologies and Midrex Technologies, the latter of which is the world leader in direct reduction technology.
The plan is to supply the DRI systems with green hydrogen and electricity from CWP’s Aman project in order to refine raw iron ore supplied by SNIM into DRI. According to CWP Global, this project could pave the way for Mauritania to become a global leader in green HBI production and exports. HBI is a high-quality, compacted form of DRI that is ideally suited for carriage by sea due to its high strength and lower risk of oxidation and is thus an iron product with a high added value.
Source: CWP Global