Italian technology provider Danieli has reconfirmed a contract with Kurum International for a new MIDA (micromill Danieli) plant to be installed in Elbasan in Albania, marking the first greenfield MIDA installation in Europe, according to Danieli.
Startup is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027.
The project will be based on the MIDA-QLP concept for Quality Long Products, Kallanish notes from a Daniali statement. At its core are Danieli’s patented OctoCaster and an innovative mill layout designed for endless casting and rolling.
The new facility will have an annual capacity exceeding 700,000 tonnes of deformed bars and compact coils. Danieli’s scope of supply includes a meltshop with a 75-tonne electric arc furnace equipped with the ECS continuous scrap-charging system, a 75-tonne ladle furnace, material-handling systems and a fume treatment plant.
Casting will be carried out via a 12-metre-radius continuous casting machine with an octagonal mould, enabling stable endless casting at speeds above 7 m/min. The rolling mill will comprise housingless stands and a high-speed finishing block, producing straight bars from 10-32mm and spooled coils from 8-25 mm, with customised coil weights of up to 5 tonnes.
According to Danieli, MIDA-QLP enables true “green” steel production while delivering the lowest achievable transformation costs from scrap to finished long products, supporting highly sustainable operations.
In December, media reports mentioned a roughly €150 million ($175.27m) investment by Kurum International for the Elbasan plant.
Micromill Danieli or MIDA is Danieli’s patented, scrap-based steelmaking concept for long products, using a compact endless casting and rolling process to cut capital expenditure, energy use and CO₂ emissions. The concept has scaled to capacities of 700,000 t/year or more, enabling its first greenfield adoption in Europe as decarbonisation and cost pressures intensify.
Danieli says it has supplied or is executing 29 MIDA plants worldwide, across the US, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
