SteelZero calls for public sector-led transition, procurement
Climate Group’s SteelZero initiative is calling on governments to lead the transition in decarbonising heavy industry, by adopting industry wide standards and procuring lower-emission steel, Kallanish learns.
The initiative’s “Getting to SteelZero: Pathways to decarbonisation for government and industry” report gives policy-based recommendations and sees the public sector as a key enabler of change.
Helen Clarkson, chief executive at Climate Group, says: “This is too big a challenge for any one company or institution to deliver. We need to see collaboration and innovation to create the conditions for a private sector led, government enabled transition.”
Climate Group aims to bring governments together to overcome decarbonisation barriers through its proposed Industrial Decarbonisation Enablement Alliance (IDEA) for heavy industries such as steel.
Effective collaboration can also amplify demand signals that push steelmakers to invest in new technologies. SteelZero argues it is imperative to find new ways to unlock investment, not only in steelmaking facilities, but also in renewable energy, green hydrogen and green ironmaking plants.
One of its recommendations is utilising procurement to specify the use of lower emission steel and incentivise its wider use through changes to regulations and standards. The report notes governments have substantial purchasing power and therefore an opportunity to influence the market directly.
Beyond purchasing power, they can also support industry decarbonisation through investment, policy and regulatory frameworks. These actions can also help enhance the competitiveness of local businesses in the complex global markets for steel, it notes.
Another recommendation is aligning net zero strategies, industrial policy and investment incentives to support steel decarbonisation.
“This is not about protectionism. We all lose if environmental rules become trade barriers,” the report adds.
It also notes that decarbonisation goes beyond building new lower emission steelmaking capacity. It requires vast and supportive infrastructure, which means ensuring that electricity supply and transmission are in place and that green hydrogen is available.
Another focus in the report is the use of data, which remains a major barrier to change, and its role in the adoption of emissions standards. SteelZero says governments should adopt transparent and comparable environmental data standards that give steel buyers clarity and confidence, while noting there is currently no universally agreed definition for green steel.
It notes that businesses are seeking common terminology across the entire value chain with a standardised definition.
The standard should allow for geographical and sectoral variability, while options will vary depending on production location and method, clean energy availability, and the priorities and incentives set by government policy.
SteelZero also notes that for those producing steel from iron ore rather than through recycling existing steel, the urgency and scale of the transition is significantly greater. “We need to work together to find ways to close coal blast furnaces and invest in innovative new steelmaking techniques that can deliver net zero steel to everyone, everywhere,” the report concludes.
Carrie Bone UK
August maintenance drags down Swedish year-to-date output
Swedish crude steel production fell 7% on-year in the first nine months of 2024. This was dragged down mainly by a 41% on-year slump in August output due to planned maintenance shutdowns, says the country’s national steel federation, Jernkontoret.
In the first nine months 2024, mills produced 3.04 million tonnes of crude steel. In September alone, output was 307,000t, down 3% on-year, Kallanish notes.
The planned maintenance clearly did not take place in summer 2023, with output that year down 3% on-year each in July as well as August. However, September 2023 saw production fall 13%, with Jernkontorent offering no explanation then.
July this year saw output nearly on par with last year’s July, at 314,000t, quite possibly due to strong production in anticipation of the August shutdown.
Christian Koehl Germany
San Polo Lamiere acquires Italpak
Italian service centre San Polo Lamiere has successfully acquired full ownership of Italpak, a service centre specialising in tinplate and packaging solutions for the food sector.
The acquisition aligns with San Polo Lamiere’s strategic objective of enhancing and diversifying its commercial portfolio and production capabilities. “Steel serves as the fundamental element of the Group; however, pursuing diversification in the downstream sectors remains a key objective,” chief executive Tommaso Sandrini tells Kallanish.
Italpack is an opportunity for the service centre to penetrate a new market segment that is exhibiting substantial growth potential. The two companies, situated near Parma, will leverage synergies to enhance production capacity. Italpak processed approximately 50,000 tonnes of tinplate last year. The objective is to enhance capacity to a range of 60,000-70,000 t/year next year.
San Polo Lamiere specialises in the transformation of coils into sheets and strips. In 2023, the firm processed approximately 200,000t of steel, Sandrini confirms.
Italpak has achieved notable growth in recent years, attributed to its partnership with Thyssenkrupp-Rasselstein, a leading tinplate manufacturer in Europe. This collaboration has enhanced its production processes and fortified its commercial positioning within the high-end segment.
The firm is set to maintain its operations as a standalone entity, now under the leadership of newly appointed ceo Stefano Morelli. The organisation processes coils through two cutting lines located at its facility in Montechiarugolo.
Natalia Capra France
HRC prices in Europe hold steady; market direction for Q1 remains unclear
Despite an increased number of inquiries for potential purchases of HRC, trading remained limited, Fastmarkets heard.
Mills in Northern Europe continued targeting €600-620 ($632-653) per tonne ex-works for first-quarter-delivery coil.
No deals were reported at these levels however.
December-delivery material was still available in the market, according to some sources.
One buyer source told Fastmarkets that in theory, December-delivery coil should be sold out now, but in practice, some volumes from stocks could still be traded.
Buyer estimations for the tradeable market level were at €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
Some small volumes of December-delivery HRC were booked at €570 per tonne ex-works, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe at €563.33 per tonne on Monday, up by €0.83 per tonne from €562.50 per tonne on Friday November 15.
The index was up by €5.00 per tonne week on week and by €10.20 per tonne month on month.
But buyers were not convinced about the positive development of the market for the first quarter of 2025.
According to the buyer source, prices would not increase significantly in the first quarter of next year and more positive developments could be expected only in the second quarter.
Mills in Northern Europe hoped that limited imports would support prices, with buyers relying mainly on local production.
But the lack of imports would become more visible in the market closer to the end of the first quarter of 2025, Fastmarkets reported previously.
There is still a lot of steel in the pipeline and at least a few months will be necessary to clear it, according to industry sources.
As well, low demand from the main steel-consuming sectors remained a major concern.
“[For the market to improve], we will need more positive news from the automotive and construction sectors,” a second buyer source told Fastmarkets, adding that for now the situation seemed more complicated.
The second buyer agreed that more positive developments could be expected in the second quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, in Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy at €557.50 per tonne, up by €1.50 per tonne from €556.00 per tonne on Monday.
The Italian index was up by €5.50 per tonne week on week and by €6.25 per tonne month on month.
December-delivery material was no longer available in the Italian market, industry sources reported.
HRC with lead times in the first quarter of 2025 was on offer from local suppliers at €600 per tonne delivered, which would net back to €590 per tonne ex-works.
A third buyer source told Fastmarkets that transactions in Italy were limited.
Buyer estimations of the workable market level were at €550-570 per tonne ex-works.
Import offers remained uncompetitive in the European market, Fastmarkets heard.
Aside from the trade risk, the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the euro made imports more expensive.
Asia-origin HRC was on offer at €610-620 per tonne CFR Italy, with these levels considered by buyers to be “completely not workable.”
Published by: Darina Kahramanova
Stable market environment supports EU HRC prices
Domestic European hot-rolled coil prices held steady Nov. 18 as mills sought price consolidation amid a stable market environment with weak demand.
As the market became increasingly competitive with mills seeking to win business amid limited demand, European mills made price consolidation a key priority.
A Germany-based mill source did not expect a change in market dynamics in the remaining weeks to Christmas.
“The market will just start to slow down until then, with no expectation for a market pickup,” the source said.
A Germany-based distributor source saw limited restocking and subdued automotive demand with stable prices in the European flat steel market amid a backdrop of weak demand.
“The European market struggled to fully accept high green steel premiums due to economic challenges, limited end-user demand and cost sensitivity,” particularly from the automotive industry, the source said.
Economic factors continued to slow demand for European flat steel amid price-sensitive market fundamentals.
Platts assessed Northwest European HRC at Eur560/mt ex-works Ruhr Nov. 18, stable on the day.
Offers were reported at Eur600-620/mt ex-works Ruhr. Tradable values were reported at Eur540-580/mt ex-works Ruhr.
Platts assessed domestic HRC in Southern Europe at Eur555/mt EXW Italy, down Eur5 on the day.
The exchange rate continued to leave European importers at a disadvantage when trading in dollars, according to sources.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northwest Europe at Eur525/mt CIF Antwerp, stable on the day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Southern Europe at Eur525/mt CIF Italy, stable on the day.
Platts is part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Access to finance an issue for steel industry’s net zero carbon target, says Ugur Dalbeler
Access to finance remains an issue for the steel industry’s net zero carbon target, so some delays could be seen in reaching targets globally, Ugur Dalbeler, vice president of the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Union (CIB) and CEO of major Turkish steel producer Colakoglu, said.
Noting that Turkey has some advantages on an environmental basis, especially in the steelmaking process, Dalbeler said at the “Future of the Steel Industry: Decarbonization, Circular Economy, and Emerging Challenges” panel held in the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan Nov. 16 that the Turkish steel sector will be separated positively from its rivals in the coming years due to this advantage.
Electric arc furnaces’ share in total steel production in Turkey is around 75%, which has lower carbon emissions compared with the basic oxygen steelmaking process (BOF).
“If Turkey will manage to reduce Scope 2 emissions on the energy side successfully, logistic issues could be also solved easily in the coming years,” the CEO noted.
Turkey completed its sectoral low carbon road map studies this year and has set a 99% emission reduction goal for the steel industry by 2053.
In the low-carbon pathway (LCP) scenario of the Turkish Trade Mistry’s report, total emissions of the Turkish steel sector can be reduced by 20.6% in 2040 and 99.7% in 2053.
In the optimal LCP scenario, the EAF route continues to have the largest share in the production of steel in Turkey in 2053. However, with the expected increase in scrap prices and the introduction of new BOF technologies, EAF use will decrease to 62% of total production capacity by 2053 from the current 75%, according to the report.
EAF technology’s share will be firstly gradually replaced by DRI technology and later by BOF using hydrogen-based DRI, the report said, adding that 13% of the production capacity for traditional EAF will be shifted to DRI and hydrogen-based technologies in 2053.
Access to finance, however, remained an issue for the net zero carbon target both for Turkey and the global steel industry,” Dalbeler said, adding that to have the necessary finance and technologies, these kinds of organizations (COP29) are very useful.