Nu-Iron Unlimited Point Lisas DRI plant

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Nu-Iron Unlimited Point Lisas DRI plant (Planta de reducción directa Nu-Iron Unlimited) is a steel plant in Point Lisas, Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago that operates direct reduced iron (DRI) technology.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Point Lisas, Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago:

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  • Location: Caribbean Dr, Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Point Lisas, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Coordinates (WGS 84): 10.399138, -61.486326 (exact)

Background

Nucor's Nu-Iron Unlimited plant is the world's largest shipper of CDRI (cold direct reduced iron), with more than 12 million tons shipped in its first decade of operation.[1] The plant, originally known as American Iron Reduction or AIR, was initially sited in Convent, Louisiana, where it began commercial operations in 1998.[1] However, declining market conditions and rising natural gas prices prompted owner Nucor to abandon the Louisiana location and physically relocate the plant to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago.[1]

In December 2006 the Nu-Iron Unlimited plant began producing DRI at its current site in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate outside Couva, Trinidad.[1][2] All of Nu-Iron's DRI production is shipped to steel plants in the United States via the ports of Charleston, SC, Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, LA and Morehead City, NC.[1]

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Start date Workforce size Iron ore source
2006-12-30[3][4] 8000[5][6] Brazil[7][8]

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Parent company Parent company PermID Parent GEM entity ID Owner Owner company PermID Owner GEM entity ID
Nucor Corp [100.0%] 4295904636 [100.0%] E100001010181 [100.0%] Nu-Iron Unlimited [100%][9][10] 4296080689 E100001010182 [100%]

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category ISO 14001 Main production equipment
crude[11] 2024-12-17[12] DRI

Table 4: Plant-level Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

1Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.
Capacity operating status1 Sponge iron/DRI capacity Nominal iron capacity (total)
operating 2000[11][5][13][14] 2000[11][5][13][14]

Table 5: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Sinter Pellets
NF NF

Table 6: Actual Plant-level Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year DRI production Total (all routes)
2019 1700[15][16] 1700[15][16]
2020 1340[16] 1340[16]
2021 1620[17] 1620[17]
2022 1430[14] 1430[14]
2023 1390[18] 1390[18]
2024 1520[19] 1520[19]

Unit Details

Table 7: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Details

Unit name Status Start date Furnace manufacturer and model Furnace type Current capacity (ttpa)
DRI 1 operating[5] 2006[8] Midrex[18] shaft furnace[8] 2000[11][13][14][5]

Table 8: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Reductant Details

Unit name Current or initial reductant Gas reductant Hydrogen reductant status
DRI 1 gas[8] syngas (reformed methane)[8] capable[20]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Advancing Performance of Nu-Iron's MIDREX® DRI Plant". Midrex. March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Nucor History". Nucor. Retrieved 2022-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20220318105249/https://www.midrex.com/tech-article/advancing-performance-of-nu-irons-midrex-dri-plant/. Archived from the original on 2022-03-18. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20220523020451/https://www.nucor.com/history/. Archived from the original on 2022-05-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20231114084341/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/73309/000156459023002793/nue-10k_20221231.htm. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20230602233635/https://fortune.com/ranking/best-workplaces-manufacturing-production/2021/nucor-corporation/. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Nucor Starts Up DRI Production in Trinidad". www.aist.org. 2017-01-17. Archived from the original on 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318105249/https://www.midrex.com/tech-article/advancing-performance-of-nu-irons-midrex-dri-plant/. Archived from the original on 2022-03-18. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240119024037/https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_NUE_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-19. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. https://web.archive.org/web/20211216133805/https://www.nucor.com/locations/. Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20211027124400/https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2267543-nucor-restarts-trinidad-dri-plant. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220318143914/https://assets.ctfassets.net/aax1cfbwhqog/Kk7CJMRKW7ID3u0ft1Ajt/3d99bc2633c2c76a92b057ba794f4783/2021-2024_Certificate_of_Registration.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 AIST. "2024 AIST DRI-HBI Roundup". Archived from the original on 2025-03-10.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 "2022 World Direct Reduction Statistics" (PDF). Midrex. 2023-09-12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-11-03.
  15. 15.0 15.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20211023044043/https://www.midrex.com/company-news/record-setting-performances-in-2019/. Archived from the original on 2021-10-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "2020 World Direct Reduction Statistics" (PDF). Midrex. 2021-09-14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-29.
  17. 17.0 17.1 "2021 World Direct Reduction Statistics" (PDF). Midrex. 2022-09-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-10-08.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 (PDF) https://www.midrex.com/wp-content/uploads/MidrexSTATSBook2023.Final_.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. 19.0 19.1 (PDF) https://www.midrex.com/wp-content/uploads/MidrexStatsBook2024.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. https://www.midrex.com/tech-article/future-processing-options-for-hydrogen-dri/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Resources