On August 27, the construction of the continuous test platform of the CERI H-RIF™ hydrogen-based direct reduction shaft furnace kicked off in Jincheng, Shanxi Province. The test platform is the most vital test unit in the hydrogen metallurgy research and development project of the China Minmetals Science and Technology Project and the "181 Key Research Plan" of MCC. It is also a part of the laboratory construction of the Shanxi Province Low-Carbon Hydrogen Metallurgy Engineering Research Center.

CERI has been continuously cultivating technical research in the field of green and low-carbon metallurgy for a long time, integrating and breaking through existing technologies at home and abroad. It considered China's energy conditions thoroughly and developed a set of hydrogen-based direct reduction iron-making H-RIF™ units with completely independent intellectual property rights. The system has many advantages such as stability, high efficiency, safety, adaptability to multiple gas sources, and low cost. It is the first direct reduction device suitable for multiple gas sources in China. To achieve the "last mile" leap in technology research and development and application of results, CERI has established and cooperated with two R&D institutions, China MCC Low Carbon Technology Research Institute (Beijing) and Shanxi Low Carbon Hydrogen Metallurgical Engineering Research Center, to make full use of the local abundant coalbed methane resources to build the test platform in Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. After the completion of the test platform, research on key processing technologies and equipment for hydrogen-based direct reduction will be carried out accordingly, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of process theory engineering and the localization of equipment.

The whole process of the construction of the test platform will be carried out by 3D digital methods, to realize the digital design, construction, and delivery of a complete set of test equipment, and finally rely on the CERI DigitalTwin Factory management and control platform "Yi·Factory™" ("亦·厂™") to carry out full-digital test research.

Relevant personnel of the CERI project, Shanxi Provincial Low-Carbon Hydrogen Metallurgical Engineering Research Center, and relevant personnel of the construction unit attended the commencement ceremony.