SMS group and Hybar LLC are leading the way to Green Rebar with Continuous Mill Technology
SMS group and Hybar LLC stepped into an innovative collaboration to establish one of the most modern and sustainable CMT® (Continuous Minimill Technology) rebar minimill ever built. The project is being carried out on Hybar’s Arkansas site.
Hybar’s vision for sustainability
Hybar LLC, a newly established company specializing in scrap metal recycling and steel production, is building a low-emission and energy-efficient CMT® rebar minimill in Osceola, Arkansas. With plans for groundbreaking in Q2 2023 and commissioning scheduled for 2025, Hybar aims to set new standards for sustainability and profitability in the steel industry.
The shift to long products and green rebar
The decision to focus on long products with the CMT® rebar minimill derives from the increasing demand for these products in the USA, driven by construction and infrastructure development. Green rebar is gaining importance as a sustainable alternative, offering reduced CO2 emissions and environmental impact compared to a conventional minimill. Furthermore, a clean energy solar park enabling CO2 free green electricity is envisaged to be directly connected to the plant's operations, allowing it to run on up to 100% renewable energy (behind-the-meter concept). Hybar’s new rebar minimill features an extremely low carbon footprint, 35% lower compared to a conventional minimill with full use of solar energy 70%.
Technological innovations driving sustainability
The concept of CMT® is not new, but SMS group technologies make Hybar’s minimill one of the most modern and sustainable of its kind. SMS group’s CMT® technology allows for an energy efficient steelmaking system by supplying liquid steel to a high-speed caster that directly feeds the rolling mill in a single, highly reliable process. This process eliminates the need for a traditional fossil fuel fired re-heating furnace. The mill's low carbon footprint is among other products also granted to the power electronics technology for electric arc furnaces (EAF), which minimizes the utilization of fossil fuel in the melting process and deletes the necessity for a conventional billet reheating furnace. SMS group’s AURA DC (advanced unit rectifier assembly) power electronic technology for electric arc furnace reduces energy requirements and perturbation to the network and simultaneously increases availability of the plant.
The rebar mill is equipped with a SMS group eight-pass MEERdrive® high-speed finishing block enabling further energy savings.
Two finishing lines enable a diverse product portfolio
Equipped with two finishing lines for straight bars and coils up to 8 tons, Hybar's CMT® plant offers high product flexibility, serving diverse markets efficiently. The integration of the High Speed Delivery (HSD®) system and the SMS Vertical Compact Coiler (VCC®) technology enhances material yield by up to 2%. , by minimizing the occurrence of short bars in multistrand bar rolling.
The role of digitization in sustainability
SMS group provides digital solutions to help Hybar maximize production efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. Hybar’s rebar minimill can run on solar energy for up to 12 hours a day, with efficient energy management for the remaining hours. SMS group offers advanced digital solutions for steelmaking plants, addressing the need for efficient and sustainable production processes through automation and modular connectivity. For Hybar’s CMT® rebar minimill, the objective is to predict plant conditions, maintain product quality, and minimize unplanned downtimes. A key player in this digital transformation is the seamless integration of data across all process steps, eliminating data silos. These scalable solutions integrate AI and machine learning for real-time data processing, transforming production facilities into Learning Steel Plants.
The digital transformation for Hybar’s CMT® rebar minimill is realized in two steps:
Basis Digital Package
Data Driven Optimization Packages
The Basis Digital Package includes the DataXpert System for the predictive asset optimization for the Asset Maintenance System enabling early deviation detection and maintenance planning. Future Data Driven Optimization Packages focus on product quality prediction, asset optimization, energy management and predictive production.