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This project was initially targeted to the making of coke for blast furnaces by using proprietary technology of Calderon in a phased approach, and Phase I was successfully completed. The project was then re-directed to the making of iron units. In 2000, U.S. Steel teamed up with Calderon for a joint effort to produce directly reduced iron with the potential of converting it into molten iron or steel consistent with the Roadmap recommendations of 1998 prepared by the Steel Industry in cooperation with the Department of Energy by using iron ore concentrate and coal as raw materials, both materials being appreciably lower in cost than using iron pellets, briquettes, sinter and coke.

This project was initially targeted to the making of coke for blast furnaces by using proprietary technology of Calderon in a phased approach, and Phase I was successfully completed. The project was then re-directed to the making of iron units. In 2000, U.S. Steel teamed up with Calderon for a joint effort to produce directly reduced iron with the potential of converting it into molten iron or steel consistent with the Roadmap recommendations of 1998 prepared by the Steel Industry in cooperation with the Department of Energy by using iron ore concentrate and coal as raw materials, both materials being appreciably lower in cost than using iron pellets, briquettes, sinter and coke.

The commercialization path of the Calderon technology for making a feedstock for steelmaking with assistance from DOE initially focused on making coke and work was done which proved that the Calderon technology is capable of making good coke for hard driving blast furnaces. U.S. Steel which participated in such demonstration felt that the Calderon technology would be more meaningful in lowering the costs of making steel by adapting it to the making of iron--thus obviating the need for coke. U.S. Steel and Calderon teamed up to jointly work together to demonstrate that the Calderon technology will produce in a closed system iron units from iron concentrate (ore) and coal competitively by eliminating pelletizing, sintering, coking and blast furnace operation. If such process steps could be eliminated, a huge reduction in polluting emissions and greenhouse gases (including CO{sub 2}) relating to steelmaking would ensue. Such reduction will restructure the steel industry away from the very energy-intensive steelmaking steps currently practiced and drastically reduce costs of making steel. The development of a technology to lower U.S. steelmaking costs and become globally competitive is a priority of major importance. Therefore, the development work which Calderon is conducting presently under this Agreement with the …