Day: 20 July 2020

Germany’s industrial policy ought to encourage the creation of “…leading green markets” with incentives for buyers of recyclable products made based on environmentally friendly principles. So says Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, president of steel federation WV Stahl.

“Steel users should be rewarded when they use green steel,” Kerkhoff says. Emissions avoided could be factored into the final price, he suggests in a statement on the “Handlungskonzept Stahl” steel action plan adopted last week by the German government (see Kallanish passim).

The government is signalling full support for the endeavours of the country’s steel industry to become carbon-neutral. The plan has been worked out together with companies and unions since autumn last year. “This is a premiere in politics,” German economics minister Peter Altmaier said at a press conference attended by Kallanish. “In an intensive dialogue with companies and employees, we have elaborated a joint concept for an industry we consider as very important, with 85,000 direct and many more indirect jobs.”

Kerkhoff, who also spoke at the conference, called the agreement “…a coherent, all-encompassing political concept.” He noted that political campaigning for decarbonisation needs to be carried out at the European level. Among other challenges, the transformation will need high volumes of affordable energy made on the basis of hydrogen, he maintained.

Another speaker was Jürgen Kerner of union IG Metall, who is also representative of employees on the supervisory board of thyssenkrupp. He pointed out the agreement needs to be followed up quickly by subsidy schemes. The sum assumed as long-term investment for the transformation to carbon-neutral steel is €30 billion ($34 billion), according to the economics ministry.

South Korea’s Posco restarted its No. 3 blast furnace at Gwangyang on July 10 following the completion of scheduled works that have transformed it into “a super-gigantic furnace,” a spokesman said July 17.

The furnace’s volume is now 5,500 cubic meters, up from 4,600 cu m, with output increased by 25% to 4.6 million mt/year.

“The company has already secured the minimum order required to operate the Gwangyang No.3 Blast Furnace and plans to make every effort to resume operation to its ordinary level promptly,” the company said.

The work took one year and eight months to complete at a cost of Won 400 billion ($331.8 million).

It was initially expected to restart on May 28 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posco has lowered its 2020 projection for crude steel production to 34.1 million mt, down 7.1% from 36.7 million mt earlier.

“The steel demand slump that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed is yet to be recovered, and steel prices are still low,” the steelmaker said.

With Gwangyang No. 3 back online, Posco now runs six super-gigantic furnaces in South Korea — two in Pohang and four in Gwangyang.

A blast furnace of 5,500 cu m or more is considered a super-gigantic furnace and there are only 15 such furnaces around the world, Posco said.

Posco was also heard to be back in the seaborne market for ferrous scrap since the start of this month, seeking offers for Japanese material, with latest purchases of shredded scrap for delivery to Gwangyang port.

— Clement Choo, Samuel Chin