Blastr Green steel secures partner finance round for Finnish low-carbon steel plant
Blastr Green Steel has successfully completed its second strategic partner financing round to bolster the development of the integrated low carbon CO2 steel value chain, centered around its flagship steel plant located in Inkoo, Finland, the Norwegian company stated on Feb 3.
The latest financing round saw participation from three of Blastr’s founding investors and three new Finnish investors, all committed to sustainable growth. The first round of finance was done in June 2024. The company did not disclose how much has raised until now when asked by S&P Global Commodity Insights, but it confirmed that in total it should needed around Eur4 bln ($4.96 bln) of investment for its project.
Blastr is planning a direct-reduced iron (DRI-EAF) steel plant with an integrated green hydrogen production facility to produce 2.5 million mt of low-carbon steel in Inkoo, Finland. The company is also planning to build a pellet plant to produce 6 million mt of DR pellet feedstock annually to feed the steel plant in Finland. At the moment the company is looking for the DRI location and is exploring building it in the UK, the company’s spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights on Feb. 3.
The new partners include Aurora Infrastructure, Onvest Oy, and Security Trading Oy. Aurora Infrastructure specializes in asset financing and the development of electricity networks in the Nordic region, while Onvest Oy is a family-owned enterprise that supports sustainable growth initiatives. Security Trading Oy focuses on sustainable investments.
The existing investors, which include commodity giant Cargill, Finland’s state-owned venture capital firm Tesi, and Blastr’s founding entity Vanir Green Industries, have also increased their stakes in the company, but the company did not disclose by how much.
“Blastr’s green steel project is a significant industrial investment for Finland, exactly what the country needs to accelerate its transition to a sustainable future,” Aurora Infrastructure’s CEO Robin Lindahl said.
“The Inkoo site, with its existing infrastructure and strategic location, is ideally suited for such an initiative. Projects like this are what we want to support at Aurora Infrastructure, and we have a proven track record of serving some of the largest industrial sites in Finland,” he added.
In late 2024, Blastr submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Inkoo plant to Finnish authorities. The report confirmed that the facility could be developed sustainably, and Blastr plans to apply for the necessary environmental permits in 2025.
As the demand for green steel continues to rise, Blastr Green Steel is poised to play a crucial role in transforming the steel industry while contributing to Finland’s economic growth. Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed Northwest European hot-rolled coil carbon accounted at Eur655/mt ex-works Ruhr on Jan. 31, stable day over day. The assessment was calculated in line with the sum of Platts’ daily carbon-accounted steel premium (CASP) assessment and Platts’ daily hot-rolled coil price assessment in Northwest Europe.
Steel HRC prices inch upward across Europe
Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at €593.75 ($609.44) per tonne on Tuesday, up by €2.50 per tonne from €591.25 per tonne the previous day.
The index was also up by €5.31 per tonne week on week and by €28.75 per tonne month on month.
Trading activity in the region was still “far away from booming,” market sources said, but has recently picked up from the low levels at the beginning of January.
Buyers estimated tradeable values for HRC in the region at €580-600 per tonne ex-works.
Most market sources agreed, however, that it was impossible to get HRC from a first-tier supplier at a price “much below €600 per tonne ex-works.”
Major HRC producers in Northern Europe were largely sold out for first-quarter delivery coil. Target offer prices for April-delivery material were currently in the range of €620-630 per tonne ex-works, but this had not yet been achieved in deals.
“There is room for a minor price rise in the coming weeks, but demand is too weak to support any big rebound. I guess we will see some real import shortages in the second half of the year – that might help mills to gain a stronger position in negotiations,” a buyer in Germany said.
“We cannot see any shortage of [HRC] in the market yet,” a second buyer said. “There is plenty of material still in ports, but getting new tonnages from imports is likely to become increasingly difficult when [the EU’s] reviewed [import] safeguards are in place.”
Market sources expected to see tougher trade defense measures in the second quarter, and therefore a stronger reliance on domestic steel, Fastmarkets understands.
The European Commission started a review of steel safeguard measures on December 17 last year. The review was expected to be concluded by March 31, with any adjustments to the current measures expected to come into force the following month.
In Southern Europe, Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, at €588.33 per tonne on Tuesday, up by €0.83 per tonne from €587.50 per tonne on February 3.
The index was up by €5.83 per tonne week on week and by €25.83 per tonne month on month.
Italian buyers estimated tradeable prices around €580-590 per tonne ex-works, while offers were reported at €590-600 per tonne ex-works for March-delivery coil.
In terms of imports, HRC from Turkey was on offer to Italy at €590 per tonne CFR, including anti-dumping duty, industry sources told Fastmarkets.
From Asia, March-shipment HRC offers were heard at €570-580 per tonne CFR.
European buyers estimated the workable price for imported coil at €540-550 per tonne CFR.
Global crude steel production grows in December but declines overall in 2025
But total production for the full year 2024 declined by 0.9% to 1,839.4 million tonnes, reflecting weaker demand and economic uncertainty across several major producing regions.
China and India lead December growth
China, the world’s largest steel producer, recorded an 11.8% year-on-year increase in December output to 76.0 million tonnes, despite a 1.7% decline in total 2024 production to 1,005.1 million tonnes, worldsteel said on Friday January 24.
The late-year boost may be attributed to increased demand due to restocking ahead of the Lunar New Year and incoming transport-affecting winter weather, as well as a greater focus on exports. There was also positive news a month earlier in November around year-on-year increases in new home sales.
But slow domestic consumption weighed on output over the whole of 2025, driven by a depressed property market and lackluster government stimulus policies.
India also saw strong growth in December, with production rising by 9.5% to 13.6 million tonnes. This contributed to a 6.3% annual increase, bringing total output for the year to 149.6 million tonnes, showcasing strong domestic demand in the south Asian country’s steel market.
Europe and the Americas: mixed performance
Germany posted a 4.1% year-on-year rise in December output to 2.7 million tonnes, with annual production increasing by 5.2% to 37.2 million tonnes. The European Union as a whole saw a 7.2% increase in December output to 9.6 million tonnes, while full-year production rose by 2.6% to 129.5 million tonnes.
But while crude steel output in the European steel sector has improved, weak demand in downstream markets continues to be a concern for market participants.
The European Steel Association (Eurofer) has called for an urgent meeting and EU summit to aid the region’s steel industry “in crisis”.
“The EU steel sector was already suffering from the ongoing energy and raw material crises, and on top of this, the EU market is once again being flooded by cheap foreign steel,” the association said in a letter addressed to the EU Commission’s president and vice president that was published on December 6, 2024.
Meanwhile, North America saw a 4.3% decline in December output to 8.8 million tonnes, contributing to a 4.2% annual drop to 105.9 million tonnes. And the United States, the dominant producer in the region, posted a 2.4% decrease in 2024 output to 79.5 million tonnes, reflecting ongoing challenges in industrial demand and construction activity.
With recent policy shifts in the US, concerns have arisen about potential new tariffs on steel imports, which could significantly impact the US steel industry.
In South America, Brazil’s production edged up by 1.8% year on year in December to 2.6 million tonnes, while full-year production grew by 5.3% to 33.7 million tonnes.
UK records largest annual decline
The United Kingdom recorded the steepest decline in crude steel production among the top 40 producers, with output falling by 29.0% year on year to 4.0 million tonnes in 2024. This sharp drop reflects ongoing challenges in the UK steel industry, including high energy costs, weak domestic demand, negative economic conditions, issues of competitiveness and structural shifts toward decarbonization.
Russia and other CIS nations continue to struggle
Russia remained one of the worst-performing top ten steel producers, with December output falling by 8.6% year on year to 5.7 million tonnes and full-year production dropping 7.0% to 70.7 million tonnes. Economic sanctions, weak domestic demand, and competition from cheaper Chinese exports weighed on the sector.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member nations recorded a 6.8% year-on-year decline in December to 6.8 million tonnes and a 4.2% annual decline to 84.8 million tonnes in 2024.
Ukraine, however, was an exception in the region, posting a 21.6% year-on-year increase in crude steel production to 7.6 million tonnes in 2024, reflecting efforts to revive its steel industry despite ongoing geopolitical challenges following Russia’s unprovoked invasion in 2022.
Turkey’s strong annual growth dented by December weakness
Türkiye’s crude steel output rose by 9.4% in 2024 to 36.9 million tonnes, marking one of the fastest growth rates among top producers. But December output fell by 7.6% year on year to 3.0 million tonnes.
Trump postpones tariff against Canadian and Mexican goods
The US has temporarily postponed a 25% tariff against imports of Canadian products for at least 30 days, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Canadian government has committed to increasing security measures along its border with the US in an agreement that, for now, allows the nations to avoid a trade war, Kallanish discovers in a Trudeau social media post late Monday.
Trump had said the reason for imposing the tariff on its northern ally is entirely related to what it deems is a failure to thwart the passage of drugs and undocumented people from crossing into the US.
The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) states that it has led efforts to protect fair trade policies, making the looming 25% tariffs from the US “deeply disappointing,” the association says in a statement.
“We are also concerned that the tremendous effort Canada has taken to safeguard the North American marketplace from unfair steel trade has gone unnoticed. From the enactment of melted-and-poured requirements to the levelling of tariffs on a wide array of Chinese steel products, Canada has demonstrated to the United States its commitment to a tough stance against industrial overcapacity, along with our country’s intention to be the best partner of the United States in defending against unfair practices,” the CSPA contends.
The Canadian steel advocacy organisation criticises the disruptions to steel business operations on both sides of the border and warns that these disruptions will have ripple effects on businesses and citizens in both nations.
“The North American steel industry is highly integrated across the Canadian and US border. With $20 billion in annual steel trade between our nations, these tariffs will cause significant disruption and economic hardship in both Canada and the United States. These disruptions will negatively impact businesses, workers and their families,” states the CSPA.
Earlier Monday, the White House confirmed that Trump would delay new tariffs against Mexican goods, also for 30 days. Before the delays, the 25% tariffs were scheduled to go into effect Tuesday.
Keanin Loomis, chief executive of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, says the organisation has observed cancelled contracts for steel as the industry waits to see what happens next, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
“Faced with uncertainty, local steelmakers and their customers are pausing plans,” Loomis mentions in the report.
Canada’s International Trade and Finance Commission has updated its webpage, specifying what a tariff is, how it is being used against Canada, and the nation’s current measures to mitigate the inevitable impacts. In its update, the commission states that it will hear public comments during a 21-day period on its proposed counter-tariffs on US aluminium and steel exports.
Kristen DiLandro USA
EU wire rod consumption ‘crisis’ to persist
Sluggish European wire rod consumption is expected to persist this year, with steelmaking and processing sector sources indicating a lack of recovery signals.
Southern Europe steelmakers are reducing output en masse, to balance demand and supply. A northern European producer is also reportedly in the process of significantly cutting production and is contemplating mothballing one of its plant for several months.
European prices are stable, despite steelmakers needing to improve margins. The market has experienced persistent stagnation over the last eight months, marked by low order volumes, higher production costs, robust scrap prices, and rising energy levels.
An entire year like this, with limited consumption and high costs, would be “a disaster” for the upstream sector, according to two Italian mill sources who spoke to Kallanish. “Steel producers are under pressure to raise prices; on the other hand, our customers downstream are requesting reductions,” a wire rod processor says. “Italy is currently experiencing its 22nd consecutive month of declining industrial production.”
A major EU steelmaker is reportedly evaluating a potential price increase of €50/tonne ($51.2) for drawing-quality wire rod for the second quarter. “Downstream prices are showing weakness. How can consumption be reactivated? No one knows and there are no indications of recovery other than temporary restocking patches,” the processor says.
“Even if the war ends in Ukraine, we will need at least a couple of years to restore normal prices and flow of cheaper energy and raw materials. The United States is currently selling energy at a price that is five times higher than what was previously paid by European nations before the war, and it’s in their interest to maintain this situation,” a mill source comments.
A crisis is temporary, he explains. However, the European industry has been experiencing a structural transformation for years, with the exception of 2021 and 2022. Production has been falling amid declining consumption.
“During the 1990s, Europe produced 200 million tonnes. Now, we are scarcely able to reach 100,” the mill source continues. “Italy’s production did not even surpass 20mt last year. This is not a crisis. This marks the end of a system. The factors that contributed to the strength of Germany, such as the availability of inexpensive energy, will not be re-established. We must adapt to a new way of operating that involves diminished profits and volumes. Making steel in Europe is no longer sustainable.”
“Europe will not abandon its ETS standards, and politics does not intend to ensure the industry’s survival in the face of competition from the United States, China, and India. The environmental objectives of the European Union are unattainable. It is impossible today to identify any elements that would indicate a potential recovery,” he concludes.
Although wire rod derivatives saw acceptable consumption and prices last year, with relatively lengthy lead times and minimal imports, standard wire rod consumption and prices have significantly reduced in Europe.
In the most recent negotiations for Q2 sales of wire rod derivatives, the processor source says prices were not the primary concern, as companies are busy trying to survive. Buyers are aware that steelmakers will not reduce prices due to high costs, and processors are aware that they cannot request price increases in this market. Consequently, wire rod derivatives and standard wire rod levels should remain stable.
Drawing-quality wire rod prices in Italy go from €600-630/t delivered depending on volume. Northern European material also remains unchanged amid low demand. Domestic transaction values for drawing-quality wire rod are at €620/t ex-works and mesh-grade wire rod is at €610/t. Producers are asking for €625/t ex-works, on average, for mesh-quality rod.
Natalia Capra France
Acciaierie d’Italia to increase Taranto production this year
Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI)’s commissioners aim to produce 3.5 million tonnes of steel in 2025, with output progressively increasing following the reopening of BF no.2, Kallanish learns from market sources close to the company.
They have requested Italy’s labour minister extend the temporary layoffs for an additional 12 months, commencing in March, affecting a total of 3,420 workers, with 2,955 of those at the Taranto steelworks.
The document submitted to the labour ministry, the unions and the enterprises and made in Italy ministry (MIMT) says that Taranto produced 2mt in 2024.
Currently, Taranto is functioning with blast furnaces no.1 and 4, achieving a production rate of 8,000 t/day. This indicates a slower production rate, as Taranto has the capability to produce approximately 20,000 t/day at full capacity.
The document claims that present production levels are insufficient to ensure a sound cost-profit ratio.
The deadline for reviewing the binding offers for ADI is set for 14 February.
Only three proposals have expressed interest in acquiring ADI’s assets as a whole. These were American investment fund Bedrock Industries Management, Jindal Steel International, and a consortium comprising Baku Steel Company CJSC and Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC.
ADI’s facilities in northern Italy were the subject of seven proposals. These include a consortium established by CAR Segnaletica Stradale Srl, Monge, Trans Isole Srl, and Eusider SpA, alongside another consortium that includes Eusider, Marcegaglia, Profilmec, and I.M.C.
A third consortium, comprising Marcegaglia, Sideralba, and Vitali, has reportedly submitted a bid for the tube re-rolling plant situated in Salerno. These suitors are not interested in the Taranto steelworks (see Kallanish passim).
Natalia Capra France
Tata Nederland researches thinner plate in wind turbines
Tata Steel Nederland is investigating how a new generation of supporting structures for wind turbines can be built to be just as strong and competitive but using less steel. The goal is to commence a pilot tubular tower for a wind turbine in 2027, Kallanish hears from the steelmaker.
The supporting structures for wind turbines are made from very thick steel plate, and machined ring flanges which are often made of more than 100mm thick steel. Tata Steel Nederland specialises in high-quality thinner steel, in the form of coiled steel, used in cars, washing machines, and food cans.
A team of researchers from Tata Steel Nederland, along with the TU Delft university and other partners is now exploring constructing wind towers with thinner steel plate that are just as strong and more competitive. Alternative forms of steel structures and connections could be wind turbine assembly with – stiffened – panels or with spiral-like steel structures, or with double-walled surfaces, according to Hans van der Weijde, R&D director Tata Steel.
Various industry stakeholders are involved in this research, as any technical innovations must also be practical and feasible, Tata notes.
Christian Koehl Germany
