Investor News

Matmor technology presented at the Global Steel Innovation Forum

Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX: ECT) (ECT or Company) presented its Matmor technology at the Global Steel Innovations Forum, held in Dubai last week.

Key takeaways:

  • Largest-ever R&D collaboration between Australia and India
  • Matmor is the only lignite-based iron making technology in the world, eliminating the cost of both thermal and coking coal used in other processes
  • Matmor utilises iron ore fines, utilising this lower-priced resource
  • Addresses 8/10 of India’s strategic, high priority steel industry research targets
  • Potential for significantly better return on investment (ROI) potential vs. blast furnace and coal-based DRI kilns
  • Ideally placed to support India’s 200 million tonne steel capacity growth ambitions by 2030
Above: Ms Aditi Tarafdar (left), Technical Director and Head of Process Metallurgy at MN Dastur and, ECT India CMD Mr Ashley Moore (right).

Attracting over 500 steel industry delegates from around the world, the Global Steel Innovation Forum provided a platform to showcase disruptive and cutting-edge technological innovations in the steel and associated sectors, targeted at delivering improvements in operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness and emissions profiles to drive industry processes to the next level.

Last week (Wednesday 26 September 2018), ECT India Chairman-Managing Director, Mr Ashley Moore presented the Company’s Matmor technology to an audience comprised of steel industry delegates from around the world.

Co-presenting with Ashley was Ms Aditi Tarafdar, the highly regarded Technical Director and Head of Process Metallurgy at MN Dastur.

The presentation stood out at the event as the world’s first and only lignite-based primary iron making process, highlighting the features and benefits associated with decoupling the steelmaking process from expensive metallurgical coal and premium grade lump iron ore and other high-cost inputs such as premium grade non-coking coal and natural gas.

For the technically minded, the Matmor process relies on a unique chemical pathway involving the in-situ gasification and catalytic thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons to drive a hydrogen-based reduction reaction at low (<900°C) temperatures, with the hydrogen in the process recycled via beneficial co-reactions.

For the layman, this means iron ore is reduced to iron at a lower temperature, using cheaper, alternative raw materials. Lower temperatures mean the plant can be made of ‘lighter’ materials, reducing the capital intensity. The use of cheaper, alternative raw materials decouples the iron making process from expensive coking coal and premium grade lump iron ore.

Ms Tarafdar provided an overview of how MN Dastur and ECT have approached the development of the technologies, including the techno-economic feasibility study, the basic engineering and design process and the underlying process chemistry.

Of key interest to delegates was slide 27:

Ms Tarafdar highlighted the compelling business case for the Matmor technology, noting the table on the left shows the projected return on investment (ROI) based on 2015-16 prices for coal and iron ore, running at 160% of blast furnace returns, despite the historic low prices for coking coal at that time.

The table on the right is updated to reflect the current higher coal, iron ore and steel pricing. The result is an improved level of economic superiority for the Matmor process compared to the original economic analysis, driving the case for project acceleration.

Following the presentation Mr Moore was approached by a range of delegates interested in discussing the adoption of the Company’s technologies following successful completion of the research and development (R&D) phase, establishing qualified interest from substantial parties.

The ~AUD35 million R&D project in India seeks to establish an integrated Coldry and Matmor pilot plant capable of supporting the design scale-up to commercial size, de-risking investment for future production plants.

The presentation included a brief animated ‘flythrough’ of the project, which may be viewed on the Company’s website – www.ectltd.com.au.

For further information, contact:

Glenn Fozard – Chairman           [email protected]

Presentation

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