Voestalpine, the international steel company based in Linz, Austria, awarded a $713.5 million contract to Siemens AG and its partner Midrex Technologies Inc. The contract is to build a sponge iron plant for Voestalpine.

With the move made by Voestalpine, it shows that the cheap energy prices set in the United States are attracting industrial investors as compared to Europe.

The Voestalpine consortium will provide mechanical and electrical equipment, along with engineering services. Consulting services are also offered. The reduction plan will have an annual capacity of 2 million tons of hot briquetted iron. Production for iron is set to start early 2016.

Voestalpine Stahl, Voestalpine Railway Systems, Voestalpine Schienen, Voestalpine Profilform, Voestalpine Division Automotive, originally called Motion Division are the major divisions under the Voestalpine name.

Siemens AG is a multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate based in Germany.

Midrex Technologies Inc  is one of the leading provider of reliable iron making technology.