Primetals Technologies launches new EAF for high performance, reduced CAPEX

• EAF Ultimate builds on 40 years of arc furnace expertise
  
  
• Ultimate ideal for superior flexibility, greenfield installations
  
  

UK-based Primetals Technologies has announced a new development in electric steelmaking: the EAF Ultimate Move electric arc furnace. Built on four decades of EAF innovation, this solution addresses the CAPEX-driven requirements of new electric steelmaking facilities during the industry's transition phase.

Cost-effective, highly productive

The EAF Ultimate Move enables significantly shorter tap-to-tap times and requires a smaller layout footprint. Additional advantages include reduced maintenance needs and lower overall CAPEX.

This new technology expands Primetals Technologies' electric steelmaking portfolio, in which each EAF design serves distinct objectives. For maximum flexibility and a no compromise approach to product quality and raw material mix, the EAF Ultimate Move is the preferred choice.

When upgrading existing facilities, the proven EAF Ultimate concept, combined with the grid-friendly Active Power Feeder and advanced automation, is well suited. The EAF Quantum, with its ultra-low consumption figures, remains the top option for producers focused on a primarily scrap-based charge mix with scrap and hot-briquetted iron (HBI) preheating.

"For Primetals Technologies, it is natural to merge the most advantageous features and advance established EAF technology to the next level. All types of materials, including blast furnace hot metal, can be processed in any combination in the EAF Ultimate Move, our latest development, which completes our EAF portfolio alongside the EAF Quantum and EAF Ultimate," says Hans-Joerg Krassnig, Head of Electric Steelmaking at Primetals Technologies.

Increased productivity, flexibility

Borrowing from the EAF Quantum, the innovative process of exchanging the EAF shell toward the teeming bay offers several benefits, including a reduced layout footprint, simplified maintenance, and lower CAPEX for auxiliary equipment such as cranes, crane-rail support structures, and building height requirements. This is enabled by a moveable support frame that carries the shell, and an adapted hydraulic tilting system.

The EAF Ultimate Move also features single-bucket operation, single-point roof swivelling, and Furnace Advanced Slag-Free Tapping (FAST) for enhanced productivity, quality and flexibility. The FAST system enables tapping and tap-hole filling under power-on conditions, significantly shortening tap-to-tap times.