Cleveland-Cliffs produces direct reduced iron (DRI) and hot-briquetted iron (HBI) at its Toledo, Ohio plant using natural gas instead of metallurgical coal. This lowers the carbon intensity of steelmaking compared to traditional blast furnaces. The facility has a nameplate capacity of roughly 3 million metric tons per year and supplies domestic electric arc furnaces with cleaner iron units for automotive, appliance, and construction grades. DRI from Cleveland-Cliffs allows steelmakers to tighten chemistry and reduce tramp elements in advanced high-strength steels. The company controls the full upstream chain from Minnesota pellet mines to Toledo reduction to Great Lakes finishing mills. Policy tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act and infrastructure spending are increasing demand for lower-carbon domestic steel, and Cleveland-Cliffs is positioning its DRI and HBI as a key feedstock for that shift.
