ArcelorMittal leads technology hub for decarbonisation in Spain
ArcelorMittal has agreed to partner with energy company Repsol, carrier Iberia, and cement giant Holcim Group to create a large industrial technological and innovation hub.
The so-called All4Zero joint venture will manage the development of decarbonisation and circular economy projects in Spain, Kallanish reports. This is a strategic alliance for the four companies to find common ground on the path to reduce emissions and encourage the reuse of waste and by-products in the steel, energy, aviation, and cement sectors.
“At All4Zero we contribute to the development of those technologies that offer promising solutions to the challenge of the energy transition and climate change,” the founders say. “In the evolution towards a circular production economy, the reuse and optimization of resources are the paths to follow to reinforce the sustainability of the industry. But this change will require the development of technologies that allow the recovery of waste or the efficiency of the processes.”
All4Zero project will be presented officially on 6 September.
ArcelorMittal’s plan in Spain includes constructing a 2.3 million tonnes/year green hydrogen-based direct reduced iron unit, complemented by a 1.1m t/y hybrid EAF, which will substitute the current blast furnace (see Kallanish passim). The company gave a green light for the EAF investment in early August. The facility is expected to be operational in the second half of 2025.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
EUROMETAL Regional Meeting Nordics: get ready for the steel industry’s challenges in 2024
Stålforeningen and EUROMETAL have joined forces around the biggest Danish congress for the steel trade in 2023, with twice as many speakers, a two-day program and a networking dinner.
For the 15th time, Stålforeningen brings together the Danish steel trade, and to celebrate we have teamed up to organize 2 exciting days with high professional content about the steel market in Denmark, in the Nordics and in Europe, in the heart of Copenhagen.
We bring together everyone, from steelworks to steel-consuming companies, with an interest in market assessments, expectations about needs, demand and price developments. You gain insight into which factors are expected to affect steel’s path to Denmark, the Nordics and Europe the most, so you can make your own decisions about how you want to react if or when the factors occur. We look at new well-documented customer requirements as a result of e-commerce and how it affects the wholesaler’s role. You will hear the latest status on political regulation via CBAM, ETS, anti-dumping and Safeguards.
You will learn more about the upcoming harmonized standards for steel and aluminum constructions, and when and how it affects your everyday life.And of course you get the latest status on the Danish economy, because it doesn’t help much to have the products ready if customers only think about rising interest rates.
The points are some of the topics that we try to illuminate via presentations at a high professional level from the best presenters.
Attend both days, or just the one that is most relevant to you, and be better equipped to understand expectations for the steel market in 2024.
In addition, you have the opportunity of the unique professional network with the rest of the industry from Denmark, the Nordics and the rest of Europe.
Decarbonisation will widen future price spreads: Stahlmarkt-Consult
Germany’s biggest mills have unanimously set their course on a future of making iron and steel in a cleaner way using direct-reduced iron (DRI) and hydrogen. One consultant, however, warns against too much optimism in this regard, given that the fundamentals of such a transition are far from understood,” Kallanish learns from his blog.
“We must be cautious with defining a future price premiums for ‘green steel’,” Andreas Schneider of Stahlmarkt-Consult warns in his monthly blog. For one thing, the pace of reducing CO2 emissions, and the degree to which it is achieved, will differ widely among mills, Schneider points out. The span of prices/price premiums will open much wider than is the case today. “A definition of fixed price premiums should not come about before the conditions for the production of ‘green steel’ are defined,” he adds.
Plus, the steel itself needs a definition. “When is steel ‘green’?” Schneider asks provokingly. He observes that quite a variety of CO2-reduced steels are being promoted as “green.”
“The term ‘green steel’ covers a smorgasbord of technologies, interpretations and, unfortunately, also of promises that are not very reliable and more likely to serve marketing purposes,” Schneider states.
He points out that hydrogen itself is not necessarily the saving grace as it often sounds in the public discussion in Germany and the European Union. “Neither the use of direct reduction technology nor the use of hydrogen can be equated per se with being CO2-free,” he says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Seasonal lull inhibits trading in Southern European long steel market
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Italy, was €645-670 ($703-730) per tonne on Wednesday, down by €5-15 per tonne from €660-675 on August 23.
Prices fell in the Italian rebar market as a result of weak demand and bearish sentiment ahead of the mills officially reopening.
While some market participants have already returned, steel mills are expected to officially reopen at the beginning of September, Fastmarkets understands.
“The market is still flat, and the construction sites will only return to full working capacity this week,” a buyer source said on Wednesday.
“Demand across Europe is still… dead as the market waits for mills and customers to return from the summer holidays,” a producer source said.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, delivered, Spain, was €640-650 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since July 12.
Prices remained unchanged in the Southern European wire rod market because of seasonality and continuing weak demand, sources said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel wire rod (mesh quality), domestic, delivered Southern Europe, was €580-600 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged since July 26.
Published by: India-Inés Levy
HRC prices in Europe tick up on higher offers; strength of rebound questionable
Even though European steelmakers have been gradually pushing for higher prices, with some claiming to have achieved slight increases in recent deals, the sustainability of the uptrend remains in doubt.
“It’s hard to get higher prices for HR sheet and sections; customers are pressuring us for a decrease actually,” a trading source told Fastmarkets. “The [HRC] price rise the European mills are seeking has no support [in terms of] demand.”
European mills are targeting €700 ($761) per tonne EXW in Northern Europe for October-delivery HRC, but no trades have been reported at that level so far and most buyers consider it “unrealistic” due to insufficient real steel demand.
Transactions for limited tonnages of HRC in Northern Europe were reported at €650-660 per tonne EXW. And one integrated mill claimed to have achieved €670-680 per tonne EXW for prompt-delivery coil – although this was not widely confirmed by other market participants.
Buyer estimates of the tradable price in Northern Europe, meanwhile, remained at €640-660 per tonne ex-works.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €656.25 per tonne on Friday, up by just €6.25 per tonne from the previous calculation of €650.00 per tonne on August 31.
The index was up by €12.50 per tonne week on week and up by €6.25 per tonne month on month.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of its corresponding daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Italy was €637.50 per tonne on Friday, up by €2.50 per tonne from €635.00 per tonne on August 31.
The Italian index was up by €2.50 per tonne week on week, but unchanged month on month.
Italian producers were also targeting higher prices, sources said, notably €700 per tonne delivered (about €680-685 per tonne ex-works) for October-delivery HRC.
But local buyers were maintaining a wait-and-see stance, with restocking expected to begin in the first 10 days of September.
Even though trading sources were not ruling out some HRC price increases in September, the target level voiced by Italian mills was not considered to be realistic.
Buyer ideas for the tradable level came in at €630-650 per tonne ex-works.
Sources told Fastmarkets they expect more clarity regarding the direction of Southern European HRC prices in the coming week when all the buyers and sellers have returned after the summer break.
Published by: Julia Bolotova
Polish rebar producers seek higher prices
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), domestic, exw Poland, was 2,630-2,680 zloty ($640-652) per tonne on Friday, widening upward by 30 zloty per tonne from 2,630-2,650 per tonne on September 25.
A trading source told Fastmarkets that an integrated mill in Poland was selling rebar in the domestic market at 2,650 zloty per tonne CPT, during the assessment week, which would be equivalent to about 2,630 zloty per tonne ex-works.
A second trading source said that local producers were trading rebar at 2,650-2,680 zloty per tonne CPT, which would net back to about 2,630-2,650 zloty per tonne ex-works.
A third market source confirmed the same domestic price levels in Poland.
Sources reported that mills in Poland were trying to push offers to 2,680-2700 zloty per tonne ex-works, but buyers were largely holding back, still assessing the market situation.
In general, the local rebar market in Poland was still quiet and lacking clear direction after the summer lull, sources told Fastmarkets.
Market sources expected to see more clarity on price direction during the week starting September 4. Notably, sources told Fastmarkets that scrap contracts would be settled next week, which will be decisive for finished steel prices, since scrap is a key raw material used in rebar production.
Market participants shared mixed expectations for the post-summer developments, although they all agreed that mills would continue trying to increase prices to cover costs.
One industry source suggested that the rebar prices would go down to 2,550 zloty per tonne CPT within the next few weeks despite mills’ attempts to cut output, since end-user demand was still on the low side.
Other sources, however, were a bit more optimistic, claiming that end-user demand for rebar was set to improve in September due to an expected recovery in the residential construction sub-sector in Poland.
In July, the Polish government launched a support program for the nation’s first homebuyers, offering housing loans with a fixed 2% interest rate over 10 years, with the difference to the actual interest rate covered by the state.
The program, which is available to young people for their first house or apartment purchase, is supposed to stimulate residential construction, according to sources.
Published by: Julia Bolotova, Darina Kahramanova
Dillinger, SMS step up digitalisation of processes
Platemaker Dillinger Hüttenwerke and plantbuilder SMS group have announced a cooperative agreement to optimise blast furnace operation by modelling and digitalising logistics processes, Kallanish learns.
The cooperation covers raw material tracking based on SMS group’s BFXpert software, which include three digital models that accurately track the bulk materials along the burdening-to-blast furnace process chain, SMS says.
According to the plantbuilder, digital mapping of material conveyance through the material feed models enables predictive problem analysis and monitoring of digital values. As a result, Dillinger is able to manage the hoppers with low staffing levels and produce 10,000 tonnes of hot metal every day. Similarly, load peaks can be reduced by utilising load-optimised belt feeding, and the transport of spherical goods on conveyors is enhanced by preventing unwanted discharges from inclined conveyors.
The hopper model delivers a real-time calculation of the material distribution, the partners explain. Dillinger’s technology officer, Peter Maagh, highlights the system’s ability to adapt quickly to changes in feedstock qualities. “Their implementation has led to more efficient logistical planning with regard to the input and circulated material, as well as improved maintenance practices,” he says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Italian longs buyers await guidance in quiet market
The Italian long steel market remains quiet as some mills resumed activity last week and others are restarting production this week. Both mill and distribution sources expect the quiet to persist even as demand returns properly next week. Buyers remain on the fence looking at national and international raw material and finished products trends for guidance, Kallanish notes.
No price increases for merchant bar, sections, wire rod and rebar are expected in the coming weeks and the market indicates current and future price stability considering the subdued consumption seen in the past months. While Italy, France and Spain have been quiet due to the seasonal August break, other markets which are traditionally dynamic in August have also been quiet this year with many executives still on holiday. Italian sellers report very limited export sales in August across all long products.
Prices for merchant bar are flat at €340-360/tonne ($368-390) base ex-works. Including size extras, domestic values are at €760-780/t ex-works, while the first category of sections is hovering at €830-850/t ex-works including size extras. Drawing quality wire rod is also reported flat at €570-580/t delivered and rebar prices are flat at €600-630/t including size extras with demand low, Kallanish notes.
End-users are said to have some work despite the general wait-and-see attitude and low visibility. Long product demand is said to be at pre-pandemic levels. Some distributors talk about a consumption similar to that of 2017.
Natalia Capra France
Swedish steel production dips in first half
Crude steel production of Swedish mills in the first six months of the year totalled 2.305 million tonnes, 4.5% less than in the first half of 2022, according to national steel association Jernkontoret.
While the monthly production gap widened somewhat in June with 365,000 tonnes and a y-on-y spread of 5.4%, the gap was slightly less pronounced in July with minus 3.4% and 314,000 tonnes.
Still, Jernkonteret emphasises the declining trend of steel production compared with 2022. “July is a month when production often drops,” says Mathias Ternell, trade policy director at Jernkontoret. However, the overall trend of a lower rate of crude steel production “has continued during the summer, confirmed by the fact that July 2023 production is lower than in July 2022,” he says.
The production statistics are based on data from eleven steel producers in Sweden, Kallanish learns from the association. In the full year 2022, crude steel production was already 5.9% lower than in 2021, totalling 4.4m tonnes.
Deliveries of steel finished products in 2022 amounted to 3.2 million tonnes. The majority of the deliveries were exported. About two-thirds of the total crude steel production in Sweden is ore-based, and more than half of the production is high-grade alloy steels, while most plain steel grades are imported, Jernkontoret notes.
Christian Koehl Germany
Celsa awards Tarragona logistics to Bergé
Spanish longs supplier Celsa has awarded a contract for services and stocking in the port of Tarragona to logistics company Bergé, Kallanish learns from the operator.
“According to the agreement, we will transport and load almost 300,000 tons of steel per year from the Celsa plant in Castellbisbal, mainly destined for export in the Mediterranean,” Bergé says. “We will also provide stocking and port stowage services for loading mainly steel profiles to ships ranging between 3,000-7,000t.”
The port of Tarragona involves an area of 50,000m2 with multipurpose operational fields, including warehouses with a capacity of 150,000t.
Bergé already supplies logistics services for Group’s companies Global Steel Wire in Santander and Nervacero in Vizcaya.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria