Siderúrgica Balboa to install captive solar plant
Spain’s Grupo Industrial Cristian Lay (CL) has commenced construction of a photovoltaic plant to feed production at its Siderúrgica Balboa plant, Kallanish learns from the company.
The facility will be the second-largest industrial self-consumption solar project in Spain.
The new solar plant, located in Jerez de los Caballeros, is expected to have an installed capacity exceeding 25 megawatts (MWp), equipped with 35,820 bifacial solar modules of 700 Wp each.
The infrastructure is being built by the group’s renewable energy engineering and construction firm, Global Energy Services (GES), under an engineering, procurement, and construction contract.
The so-called El Corchito project is estimated to deliver annual energy savings of €2.5 million ($4.04m), bolstering CL’s long-term competitiveness amid volatile energy markets.
“Our commitment to this project is a clear demonstration of our industrial vision for the future: competitive, sustainable, and self-sufficient,” says CL’s steel division chief executive, Miguel Ángel Leal. “Generating renewable energy on-site enables us to reinforce the energy independence of our operations, ensure greater cost stability, and advance decisively in meeting our climate commitments.”
The El Corchito plant will not supply electricity to the national grid, as 100% of the output will be consumed by Siderúrgica Balboa. This will allow the steel plant to cover approximately 10% of its annual energy needs with solar power.
The solar plant is scheduled to be operational before the end of the year. Total investment in this project exceeds €14m.
Siderúrgica Balboa’s facilities in Jerez de los Caballeros comprise a steel mill and two rolling plants. The company produces wire rod and profiles.
CL Grupo Industrial’s steel division also includes companies such as Alfonso Gallardo, Ferromallas, Galvacolor, Corrugados Getafe, Lasaomallas, Marceliano Martín, and Steel Solaris.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
German rebar prices come down
German rebar prices have seen the drop some market participants were expecting, after defying the downtrend in neighbouring countries for months.
Base prices have now largely undercut the mark of €400/tonne ($460), which had long remained unbroken, with some deals peaking at €430/t. A buyer at a Ruhr-based distribution/bending group tells Kallanish of base prices between €380 and €390, which together with the average size extra of €265 would result in €645-655/t delivered.
While smaller customers might still have to expect higher prices, the break through the €400/t barrier is confirmed from southern Germany, where price levels tend to be lower than in the Ruhr. A manager there attributes the decline to the preceding fall in scrap prices, which a month ago came down by more than $50/t in Rotterdam.
In Germany, scrap prices did not fall quite as dramatically, but mills have meanwhile factored them in to some extent, the Ruhr buyer says. German scrap merchants resisted the drastic downtrend in export prices by lowering only limited volumes by $50/t, but demanded higher prices when mills needed more supply, he explains.
The slide in rebar prices has occurred rapidly, which the buyer attributes to typical purchasing behaviour in times of low demand: “Once the trend goes down, people buy even less than before,” he says.
He also notes that Riva Germany is now back to providing a larger range of products and sizes. While the EAF at Riva Hennigsdorf remains idle, the rolling mill has been temporarily reactivated to meet demand from customers.
German industry body urges EU action, new trade pacts to counter China
Germany’s mechanical engineering industry association, VDMA, calls on EU to reduce dependence on the Chinese market and improve access to new markets, raising the alarm regarding the growing challenges posed by China’s industrial policies.
As China continues to leverage competition-distorting advantages and government subsidies, European companies find themselves at a crossroads, demanding immediate action from policymakers.
“Our companies are ready to take on the competition with Chinese companies. We want to be successful on the global market based on our own strength,” VDMA President Kawlath said. “We are doing our homework. But that is not enough. We are calling on politicians to strengthen the location and ensure fair competition on the domestic market now.”
VDMA President Bertram Kawlath articulated the urgency of the situation during a recent media conference, where the association unveiled its position paper titled “Leveling the Playing Field: A Call for Fair Competition with China.” The paper outlines the pressing need for a united European front to counteract the unfair practices that have been undermining the competitiveness of local industries.
“Chinese companies are not playing fair,” Kawlath stated. “They benefit from substantial government support and often disregard our technical regulations, which puts our businesses at a significant disadvantage.”
According to VDMA European companies are eager to compete on fair terms but require better support from their governments. This includes implementing countervailing duties on imports from countries that violate EU antidumping or anti-subsidy rules and enhancing market surveillance to penalize non-compliance with EU legislation.
To avoid dependencies on China, the development of strategically relevant technologies should be supported by industrial policy. This could be achieved through non-price-related criteria in public tenders, exclusion criteria for market access and local content criteria but also concluding free trade agreements: There is an urgent need for the EU to conclude more free trade agreements, particularly with MERCOSUR and India, to improve access to new markets and reduce dependence on the Chinese market.
“We need new free trade agreements, with India, for example. The agreement with the South American Mercosur states has long been completed.
Now it must finally come into force,” Bertran Kawlath, VDMA President said.
The association also urged to promote standardization activities by European companies to avoid competitive disadvantages as China uses standardization as an instrument to implement its economic policy interests and is striving for global dominance of Chinese standards, VDMA said.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic HRC in Northern Europe at Eur600/mt ex-works Ruhr, and imported HRC in Northern Europe at Eur520/mt CIF Antwerp, both stable day over day.
