Program agreement signed to revitalize Piombino steel hub in Italy
During the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Rome, a program agreement was officially signed to support the revitalization of the Piombino steelmaking hub in Tuscany. The initiative, led by a public-private partnership, represents a key step toward the reindustrialization of the area and the economic regeneration of the local community.
The agreement was signed by Metinvest Adria – a joint venture between Ukraine’s Metinvest Group and Italy’s Danieli Group – together with the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT), the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Piombino, and other local institutions.
The project includes the construction of a next-generation steel plant in Piombino, with a total investment of approximately €2.5 billion, of which €1.5 billion will be allocated to cutting-edge technology supplied by Danieli. The agreement also provides for a development agreement with MIMIT, supported by a SACE guarantee (SACE is Italy’s export credit agency), which will be activated upon approval by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
According to Metinvest Adria, the plan will create approximately 1,100 stable jobs, including both direct and indirect employment. The agreement is part of a broader roadmap that has already included the signing of a union agreement with relevant trade organizations.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the formalization of this program agreement marks a natural continuation of the process started with the establishment of Metinvest Adria and the subsequent development agreement signed by JSW Italy for the modernization of the existing rail production mill. The signing confirms the shared goal of transforming Piombino into a strategic European hub for green steel production.
“This is not just an industrial project,” stated Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Group, “but a concrete example of reconstruction and international cooperation between Italy and Ukraine.”
The Piombino site is thus positioned to become a European reference point for low-emission steelmaking, leveraging state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable technologies, while also strengthening strategic ties between the two countries.
European longs market remains weak amid sluggish demand
The sentiment in the European longs market has been mostly unchanged this week, with market players still reporting a pessimistic outlook for the coming days.
The complicated international situation – the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, new turnarounds in US tariff policies and the euro-dollar exchange rate still being unfavorable for European sales – as well as the approach of the summer holidays are pushing operators aside and making them wait for better times.
The local Italian longs market showed new declines in rebar prices, “but believe me, no one is selling at these levels,” an Italian source at a mill commented. “It’s just that everyone is getting more and more aggressive, and it is causing a market stalemate,” he concluded. According to SteelOrbis’ information, in fact, local rebar prices in Italy have declined by a further €10/mt on the lower side this week, standing at €220-230/mt ex-works base (€485-495/mt ex-works including regular extras), even though some sources still report €240/mt ex-works base (€505/mt ex-works including regular extras). Rebar demand in the Italian market remains weak, still covered by adequate offers.
Local Italian mills and traders are still reporting logistic difficulties, with few trucks available for deliveries, very high prices and traffic jams that will start with the beginning of the summer season.
The situation is similar in the Italian wire rod segment, where prices have remained stable week on week but “the market response is very slow”, a source said. Local wire rod prices have been reported at €610-625/mt delivered for drawing quality and at €595-610/mt delivered for mesh quality.
In the eastern Europe, especially Poland and Slovakia, sources have reported a slow market for both rebar and wire rod, with rebar prices in Poland reported at around €570-575/mt delivered.
As for exports, ex-Greece rebar and wire rod prices showed no changes, remaining at €575/mt FOB and €570/mt FOB, respectively. Ex-Spain rebar prices to UK ports, instead, showed a €5-10/mt decline compared to last week, standing at €545/mt FOB. Ex-Italy rebar has been reported at €540/mt FOB.
In the import market, Turkish rebar and wire rod have been reported at €480-490/mt CFR and €490-495/mt CFR respectively, while prices for Algerian material have been reported at €510/mt CFR for both. Egyptian rebar has been reported at €490-495/mt CFR, whereas wire rod stands at €500-505/mt CFR. Malaysian and Indonesian wire rod have been reported at around €490/mt CFR in both cases.
€1 = $1.17 (European Central Bank, July 10)
German steel group receives permits for green steel production plants
German Stahl-Holding-Saar Group and its subsidiaries German steel plate producer Dillinger, long steel producer Saarstahl, and its subsidiary ROGESA have obtained federal permits for constructing a direct reduction plant and two electric arc furnace plants in Dillingen and Völklingen. The permits mark a major milestone in their transition to green steel production.
The direct reduction plant in Dillingen will supply both production sites with reduced iron pellets, while the electric arc furnaces will convert these pellets into CO2-reduced steel using scrap metal. The facilities are central components of the Power4Steel decarbonization project, making the companies the first German steelmakers to receive operating licenses for such equipment.
Stefan Rauber, CEO of Dillinger and Saarstahl, said the permits bring the company closer to achieving CO2 neutrality by 2045, with 70 percent of the production volume expected to be CO2-reduced by the early 2030s. The approval process benefited from early public engagement and cooperation with state authorities.
The Power4Steel project aims to establish climate-friendly steel production in Germany’s Saarland region through advanced environmental technologies.