Italian plantmaker Danieli has won a plea against DRI D’Italia SpA, controlled by the government agency Invitalia, and German plantmaker Paul Wurth, for the assignment of a contract for the construction of a DRI plant at Taranto, according to local Italian media.
In 2021, Paul Wurth had initially been selected by DRI D’Italia to install a DRI plant at the Taranto plant recently acquired by Italian steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia (former Ilva), which was also part of Invitalia a couple years ago. The plant, fueled with green hydrogen, was to produce two million mt of DRI per year. However, in October 2023, Danieli had presented a plea at the regional administrative court (TAR) of Lecce, claiming that Paul Wurth’s offer was not compliant with the contract’s requirements. After the investigation, the regional court concluded that Danieli’s plea was valid. Thus, DRI D’Italia will not be allowed to assign the tender to the German company, and hence the contract is invalid.