Engitec Technologies SpA is an international engineering company based in Italy. The company specializes in designing and building complete plants, often on a turnkey basis, tailored for the recovery of non-ferrous materials. These materials can come from primary sources, like ore concentrates, or from secondary sources such as scrap, slag, and other industrial wastes. Engitec is deeply committed to advancing the circular economy by developing innovative processes and equipment that reduce environmental impact.
We spoke with Oliviero Lanzani, Vice President and one of Engitec’s founding partners, to learn more about his vision and work in the HEPHAESTUS project.
What is Engitec’s long-term strategy for sustainable metallurgy?
We believe recycling is a strategic industry for Europe, but it has to be done sustainably. At Engitec, our dream, especially for the EAFD, is to move away from pyrometallurgy and transition toward hydrometallurgy. That shift will not happen in one step. It is a long-term process, but one we are fully committed to.
What is Engitec’s role in the HEPHAESTUS project?
We are the lead partner in Work Package 5, which focuses on piloting, demonstrating, and validating plant technologies. The HEPHAESTUS demonstrator plant is installed in Vibo Valentia, Italy. It includes the zinc recovery unit using our patented EZINEX electrolytic process, ideally integrated by the Hephaestus project with an Electric Plasma Furnace, a fibre drawing unit that turns molten slag into mineral wool and a carbon capture unit to capture carbon dioxide gas and transform it into methanol.
We at Engitec are especially proud of our original EZINEX process. It stands for "Engitec Zinc Extraction" and was developed by our team in Italy starting in 1993. It is a fully hydrometallurgical, industrial-scale process that converts oxidised zinc-bearing materials directly into high-purity zinc cathodes. Unlike other methods, EZINEX handles a wide variety of zinc-rich waste streams and does not rely on traditional high-temperature treatment. The end product is metallic zinc with 99.99% purity.
How did the EZINEX process come about?
It is a long story with ups and downs! The metallurgy industry tends to be very conservative, so new technologies take time to gain traction. We built the first EZINEX plant in northern Italy in 1996. It operated successfully for four years, but when the steel industry faced a downturn, production of EAF dust dropped and the plant was eventually shut down.
After about a decade, interest in recycling EAF dust came back. We built a demo plant in South Africa, which turned out to be a great success and led to a contract for a full-scale commercial plant. Unfortunately, that project was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the steel plant to shut down. That is when we saw the HEPHAESTUS project as a valuable opportunity to promote EZINEX as a clean, effective, and scalable solution to EAF dust problem.
How does EZINEX compare to existing zinc recovery technologies?
There are four or five theoretical options, but only one that is commonly used today: the Waelz kiln process. It recovers zinc from EAF dust in the form of crude zinc oxide, which is still heavily contaminated with chlorides and other pollutants. It is hard to believe, but 85 to 90 percent of the EAF dust mass becomes hazardous slag that normally ends up in landfills.
Before entering sulphuric electrolysis, the crude ZnO has to go through extra steps like washing, which generate large volumes of wastewater. These washing stages also carry a serious environmental risk, especially when water contaminated with metals is discharged into rivers or seas.
EZINEX skips all of that. It does not produce crude ZnO, but directly recovers pure zinc. It can handle material from CleanTech furnaces and other zinc oxide sources, producing 99.99% zinc cathodes without pre-treatment. No emissions, no wastewater, no landfilling. Just clean metal recovery.
How has participating in HEPHAESTUS improved EZINEX?
Thanks to the project, we have enhanced several parts of the process: better leaching efficiency, improved purification, and optimized electrolysis parameters. It is more efficient and robust now than ever before.
What motivated Engitec to join HEPHAESTUS?
We saw a great opportunity to collaborate with other companies and show that it is possible to recover not just some, but all valuable components from EAF dust through the Hephaestus project. The HEPHAESTUS solution, on the other hand, is a scalable plant concept that combines multiple technologies: the Electric Plasma furnace, the EZINEX process, fibre production, catalytic CO₂ conversion, and the AAC hydrometallurgical process. Together, they can recover iron alloys and zinc, while also producing mineral wool and methanol. It is a complete circular approach to industrial waste, one that fit perfectly with Engitec’s mission.
How does HEPHAESTUS align with your broader sustainability goals?
HEPHAESTUS project gives us the chance to show the industry that we already have a working technology for zinc recovery from dust. Moreover, thanks to the industrial partners within HEPHAESTUS consortium, we can offer a full systemic solution. Any company looking to treat EAF dust can come to us and get the whole package.
What’s next? How will Engitec apply the outcomes of HEPHAESTUS in future projects?
Right now, our focus is treating EAF dust, but we are also exploring other possibilities like used catalysts, galvanizing residues, and more.
We are already thinking about commercial applications. We can’t push the market, but there is definitely growing interest in complete plants based on the HEPHAESTUS concept. We hope this project shows that it is possible to break away from outdated models and move toward innovative, sustainable metallurgy.
To learn more about Engitec Technologies, visit their website.
