Direct Reduced Iron (DRI)

Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) is a process in which iron ore is reduced in a gas-based environment to produce sponge iron. The sponge iron is then melted in electric arc furnaces to yield steel. In the source, DRI is identified as the technical backbone of the transition away from coal-based steelmaking. The concept belongs in coverage of gas-based iron reduction and lower-carbon steel production routes, including articles that explain how DRI connects with electric arc furnaces and renewable electricity. It refers to the reduction process and its role in making steel, not to one named facility or a particular project.