![Kobe Steel celebrates first shipment of high-quality iron nuggets produced from iron ore fines and pulverized coal via ITmk3 process without coking.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090118031057im_/http://www1.eere.energy.gov/industry/steel/images/kobe_steel.gif)
Mesabi Nugget Research Project workers celebrate first shipment of iron pellets using Kobe's ITmk3 coal-based process. See successes.
The Steel Industry of the Future partnership is generating new technologies to boost productivity and save energy in steel mills. This cost-shared research and development (R&D) partnership between the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) and the steel industry emphasizes collaborative research to ensure direct application of R&D results.
Solicitations
ITP awards cost-shared funding for R&D projects through a competitive solicitation process. Projects are selected on the basis of analytical studies, energy savings, and industry needs. In this way, ITP maintains a balanced portfolio of steel R&D projects that will help realize national goals for energy and the environment. Projects are carried out by collaborative partnerships among steel companies, suppliers, national labs, universities, and others.