SSAB and DEPENBROCK partner to use fossil-free steel in sustainable construction projects
Swedish specialty steelmaker SSAB and German construction group DEPENBROCK have announced that they have formed a new partnership to promote the use of fossil-free steel in construction. The collaboration reflects DEPENBROCK’s strategy to lower the ecological footprint of its projects while supporting clients who face increasing sustainability and regulatory requirements.
Steel is a core material in modern infrastructure due to its strength, load-bearing capacity, and versatility. However, the sector accounts for a significant share of global carbon emissions. By shifting to fossil-free steel, the construction industry can substantially cut emissions without compromising performance.
For DEPENBROCK’s clients, this integration provides:
– Ecological benefits: reduced carbon footprint across projects
– Economic benefits: access to improved financing conditions
– Market advantages: eligibility for sustainability certifications and compliance with stricter ESG requirements
Partnership scope
The partnership focuses on applying SSAB’s fossil-free steel to civil and hydraulic engineering projects. These projects are central to both public and private infrastructure development, making the potential environmental gains substantial.
The cooperation also offers long-term advantages:
– Strengthening low-emission, resource-efficient construction practices
– Promoting innovative solutions for sustainable project development
– Enhancing the partners’ competitiveness in the global market for green infrastructure
Assofermet criticises EC CRC anti-dumping investigation
Italian steel distribution association Assofermet has expressed concern over the European Commission’s initiation of an anti-dumping (AD) investigation into cold-rolled coil (CRC) imports, alleging an insufficiency of domestic quality and supply of the products under investigation.
Assofermet “expresses strong disappointment and concern” in relation to the European Commission’s opening of the investigation last week, citing “higher quality standards” associated with relevant producers; downstream dependence on the targeted CRC imports; and existing overlaps with other trade instruments like the existing safeguard protections and anticipated impacts from the fiscal stage of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) – effective from January.
The association condemns what it views as the progressively expanding, burdensome, and complex nature of the European steel trade defense framework, stating that compounding restrictions on European manufacturing’s access to international steel raw materials “significantly reduces the competitiveness of the Union’s manufacturing industry in international markets, with structurally negative impacts on both the economy and employment.”
Assofermet calls on the European Commission to take “a more balanced assessment” of the EU’s steel trade protection framework and its influence on the “stability of the industrial supply chains,” and at minimum exempt existing import flows with arrival before 2025’s end from any imposition of retroactive duties.
The anti-dumping investigation covers CRC imports from India, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, and Taiwan, China and was prompted by complainant Eurofer on behalf of EU steel producers. Eurofer provided evidence that CRC imports have increased in both absolute volume and market share, alleging injury to the EU’s domestic industry. As part of its complaint, Eurofer highlighted relevant export controls imposed on raw materials used in CRC production processes, which are not accounted for in international export prices, indicating market distortion.
European producers have preferred to focus on steel products other than CRC due to the low domestic margins premising the Commission’s investigation, McCloskey understands from conversations with market participants, seeing producers instead prefer to process value-added hot-dip galvanized (HDG) steel straight from their hot-rolled coil (HRC) portfolio. This deprioritisation of CRC alleviates additional energy costs inherent to cold-rolling processes and allows mills to weight their allocations to stronger margin products, important in a time of crisis for the wider European steel sector and the role played by high energy costs.
Market participants expect that potential new AD measures could have a significant impact on European importers and the attractiveness of international CRC, as trade protection for CRC has traditionally been limited to safeguard provisions without heavy AD or anti-subsidisation exposure.
The European Commission committed to replacing the EU’s steel safeguard mechanism – expiring in 2026 as per WTO rules – earlier this year with a long-term protective instrument in its Steel and Metals Action Plan (SMAP), with early proposals now expected in the first half of October. Under the SMAP the Commission also relaxed the legal threshold for the initiation of trade defense investigations to a “threat of injury” to better facilitate more proactive trade defenses, and has launched import monitoring tools for the bloc’s imports.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) – which advises the Commission via consultation with industry stakeholders – released its official opinion on the SMAP 18 September, generally supporting the Commission’s “step in the right direction” but emphasising “that immediate action is required.”
Part of the EESC’s recommendations to the Commission and most relevant to wider AD investigations, is for a more selective application of the ‘lesser duty’ rule, and the introduction of a ‘melted and poured’ element across EU trade defence measures to better shield EU industry from global overcapacities and circumventionary evasion of its steel trade protections.
Benjamin Steven Journalist, Steel
Elmarakby Steel targets EU market edge with carbon reporting
Egyptian steel producer Elmarakby Steel has positioned itself for enhanced competitiveness in European Union markets by voluntarily reporting carbon emissions of 0.44 tons of CO2 per ton of finished steel under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for the first and second quarters of 2025, the company said Sept. 21.
“Our products’ carbon footprint was calculated at 0.44 t CO2 per ton of finished steel, including direct and indirect emissions for Q2-2025,” it said.
This achievement aligns perfectly with Elmarakbysteel’s commitment to voluntarily report its carbon emissions and footprint, accelerating its decarbonization strategy and meeting the needs of its customers in markets worldwide, the company said.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism is the EU’s tool to put a fair price on carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods that are entering the EU, and to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.
Steel imports with lower carbon footprints will face reduced carbon adjustment charges, potentially making Egyptian steel more competitive in EU markets compared to higher-emission alternatives from other regions.
The voluntary reporting also positions Elmarakby to attract environmentally conscious customers and potentially access green financing options that are increasingly available to low-carbon industrial operations. As global steel buyers implement their own decarbonization targets, suppliers with verified low-carbon credentials are likely to command premium pricing and preferential contract terms.
Elmarakby Steel, meanwhile, recently commissioned SMS group to upgrade its minimill to increase capacity and reduce operating costs.
The upgrade will expand the company’s product portfolio and boost the production capacity of the minimill from 400,000 mt/year to 460,000 mt/year of rebar and wire rod.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Turkish exported rebar at $534/mt FOB Sept. 19, down $1/mt day over day.
Turkey imposes 25%-30% tariff on import of non-EU passenger vehicles
Turkey has implemented tariffs of 25% to 30% on passenger vehicle imports from countries outside the EU and its free trade agreement partners, according to a presidential decree published in the official gazette on Sept. 22.
The measure aims to support the domestic automotive sector against unfair trade, reduce the current account deficit, and boost employment in the industry, the Turkish Trade Ministry said in a statement on Sept. 22.
“The decision was taken considering the rapidly increasing protectionist measures globally,” the Ministry noted.
According to the decree, the following additional duties will apply:
- For conventional and hybrid vehicles (excluding plug-ins): 25% or a minimum of $6,000 per vehicle, whichever is higher.
- For plug-in hybrids, 30% or at least $7,000 per unit, whichever is higher.
- For EV: 30% or a minimum of $8,500 per vehicle, whichever is higher.
The Trade Ministry said the decision will take effect 60 days after its publication, with a transitional period for ongoing import processes.
The timing of the announcement aligns with Turkey’s removal of retaliatory duties on certain US products, including vehicles, also announced Sept. 22, indicating a strategic shift in trade policy ahead of high-level diplomatic meetings.
The exemption for EU vehicles shows Turkey’s ongoing integration with European automotive supply chains, despite broader geopolitical tensions. Turkey serves as a significant production hub for European automakers, with major manufacturers operating assembly plants that export vehicles both domestically and globally. The selective application of duties maintains these established trade relationships while targeting competitors from Asia and other regions.
Turkey’s vehicle output increased 3.5% year over year in January-August to 908,238 units, according to the Turkish Automotive Manufacturers’ Association, or OSD, data published Sept. 15.
The fluctuations in demand and input costs have been impacting vehicle demand and prices in Turkey.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic hot-rolled coil at $550/mt EXW Turkey Sept. 19, stable week over week.
Salzgitter delays Salcos hydrogen steel project by three years
Salzgitter, Germany’s second-largest steelmaker, said Sept. 22 in an emailed statement to Platts that it is delaying the expansion stages of the Salcos project by approximately three years, citing worsening market conditions and the lack of regulatory support from the federal government.
The decision was taken by the company’s supervisory board on Sept. 18, according to the emailed statement.
“Since 2022, the economic and political-regulatory conditions have significantly deteriorated,” it said, adding that the company is still awaiting the regulatory changes promised by the federal government.
Salzgitter added that the federal government must act to support the German steel industry by providing a sustainable, secure, and affordable energy supply; accelerating the ramp-up of the hydrogen market; supporting the adoption of carbon-accounted steel products; and advocating for consistent trade protection at the EU level.
The delay comes as European steelmakers grapple with weak demand, high energy costs, and competition from imports, particularly from China.
Revised project timeline
While Phase One, involving the construction of a direct reduction unit, an electric arc furnace, and an electrolysis plant, remains on track to launch in 2027, Salzgitter will now postpone an investment decision on Phases Two and Three until 2028/29, instead of 2026 as previously planned.
Similar projects by companies like ThyssenKrupp and ArcelorMittal have also faced challenges related to funding, regulatory support, and market conditions.
The Eur2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) Salcos project was officially launched in 2019 and is part of Salzgitter’s broader strategy to reduce CO2 emissions in its steel production processes and transition from traditional blast furnace to hydrogen-based steelmaking processes by 2033, cutting overall CO2 emissions by an estimated 95%.
The company started construction of the 100-MW phase one electrolyzer in February, which is to produce 9,000 mt/year of renewable hydrogen, supporting phase one requirements of 150,000 mt/year for steel production.
The electrolysis plant will be among the largest green hydrogen facilities in Europe to date.
In June 2024, Salzgitter opened a tender to source up to 120,000 mt/year of renewable hydrogen for the Salcos project.
The tender was for supplies from 2027, subject to connection to the planned German hydrogen pipeline network.
Salzgitter previously said it was planning to use up to a total of 150,000 mt/year of hydrogen at its steel production plant, including the 9,000 mt/year produced from its own 100-MW electrolyzer from 2026.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the cost of green hydrogen production via alkaline electrolysis in Germany, backed by renewable power purchase agreements, at Eur7.08/kg ($8.34/kg) on Sept. 19.
The assessment reflects one possible pathway for producing EU Renewable Energy Directive-compliant green hydrogen.
EU HRC markets struggle under CBAM uncertainty
European hot-rolled coil prices continued their near-term stability on Sept. 22, as market participants cited CBAM uncertainty and poor downstream demand.
“There is no confidence from the downstream. Nobody knows how big the fee for CBAM will be for next year, and if demand increases a little bit, it will push domestic prices higher,” said a service center source.
Wider conversations in the market continued to point toward significant uncertainty and unease over the lack of forward price discovery, largely attributed to a lack of information surrounding CBAM charges.
“EU producers will take advantage of the moment and try to raise prices, so nothing will change until demand in Europe returns to normal. If there is no demand the price falls,” said a trader, also discussing the difficulty in negotiating contracts for 2026 due to the unknown CBAM component.
A distributor also referred to the safeguard quotas as further limiting market liquidity and buying interest.
“Buyers are largely purchasing hand-to-mouth, and while imports remain theoretically competitive, they are unattractive due to the quota risks,” the distributor said, noting an increase in speculative inquiries from buyers but maintaining that market sentiment continued to be weakened by poor downstream demand.
Platts assessed Northern European HRC at Eur570/mt EXW Ruhr, and Southern European HRC at Eur555/mt EXW Italy, both stable dau pver day.
Platts assessed imported HRC at Eur480/mt CIF Antwerp and Eur480/mt CIF South Europe, both stable day over day.
Stockholding: German steel sales, stocks tumble as market weakness persists
Total German steel sales in August dropped by 13% on the month and by 6.8% on the year to 747,487 mt, while steel stocks were down 1.1% on the month and 2.7% on the year to 1,865,093 mt, according to German sales and stocks association BDS (Bundesverband Deutscher Stahlhandel) data published on Sept 22.
In the given period, sales in all categories registered a decrease, the data showed.
In August, sales of long steel products were down by 13% on the month and by 1% on the year to 236,714 mt. Sales of flat steel products dropped by 12% on the month and by 10% on the year to 438,550 mt. Sales of other products also moved down, falling 17% on the month and by 4.1% on the year to 72,223 mt.
Steel stocks
In August, long steel stocks were down by 2.1% on the month, but were up by 4.7% on the year to 647,894 mt.
Stocks of flat steel products went down by 0.1% on the month and by 6% on the year to 1,184,330 mt. Stocks of other steel products were down 18% on the month and by 13% on the year to 32,869 mt.
In August, German steel production continued its steep decline, with crude steel output falling almost 11% year over year to 2.57 million mt, with the data underscoring the persistent headwinds confronting German steelmakers as they navigate a challenging operating environment that has pressured margins and production levels throughout 2025.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed Northern European HRC at Eur570/mt EXW Ruhr, stable on the day.
Salzgitter delays green steel plan amid economic, regulatory headwinds
Germany’s second-largest steelmaker Salzgitter has delayed the implementation of it’s “SALCOS” decarbonization project amid poor market fundamentals, the company told Fastmarkets on Monday September 22.
Regulatory uncertainty and deteriorating economic conditions have led the company to revise the decarbonization strategy for it’s flagship site at Salzgitter in Lower Saxony.
“Since 2022, the economic and political-regulatory conditions have significantly deteriorated,” a company spokesperson told Fastmarkets.
“Consequently, on 18 September, [Salzgitter’s] supervisory board decided to postpone the second and third stages of the SALCOS project by approximately three years. We will therefore not discuss the next investments until 2028-2029, rather than in 2026 as previously planned,” the spokesperson added.
The company did confirm, however, that it will be moving forward with the first stage of the project – albeit to a delayed timetable.
“The construction of SALCOS stage 1 – including an electrolyzer, a direct reduction (DR) plant and an electric-arc furnace (EAF) – is under way. This will enable Salzgitter to reduce CO2 emissions by around 30%, [with] production is expected to begin in 2027,” the spokesperson told Fastmarkets.
Salzgitter is investing around €2.3 billion in the first stage of the project, with almost €1 billion of the total provided by the German federal government and the Lower Saxony state government.
The SALCOS project aims to fully convert the company’s flagship Salzgitter Flachstahl integrated steelworks to low-CO2 crude steel production.
The company said that as much as 95% of the annual CO2 emissions from its steelworks – around 8 million tonnes per year – will gradually be eliminated as a result of the SALCOS project.
Salzgitter Flachstahl currently has three blast furnaces (BFs) with a combined capacity of more than 4 million tpy of pig iron, accounting for around 90% of the group’s total CO2 emissions, the company said.
SALCOS project stages
Stage 1: Initial conversion (originally expected to be operational by end of 2025 – delayed to 2027)
DR plant to convert iron ore into sponge iron, replacing the traditional blast furnaces
EAF to melt the sponge iron, often incorporating scrap steel
100 MW electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen to power the DR process – initially may use natural gas
Goal: to produce “green steel” using hydrogen
Stage 2: Expansion of hydrogen Use (initially expected by 2030 – on hold)
Addition of further DR plants, further reducing use of conventional furnaces
Increased hydrogen production through expansion of the electrolyzer capacity to meet the rising demand for green hydrogen.
Goal: 50% reduction in overall CO2 emissions
Stage 3: Full Conversion (initially expected by end of 2033 – on hold)
Complete transition to hydrogen-based DR processes – replacing all conventional blast furnace operations
Entire steelmaking process will be based on hydrogen as the reducing agent.
Goal: Achieve more than 95% reduction in CO2 emissions across the entire production process
Economic-political background
Due to challenging market environment, several leading European steelmakers have recently had to rethink their decarbonization ambitions.
Leading European steelmaker ArcelorMittal recently scrapped plans to build DRI modules in Germany, despite also being provided with government funding. It is now only committed to build EAFs, it said, due to market fundamentals in Europe being unfavorable to green investments.
And in March, Germany’s largest steelmaker, thyssenkrupp, put a tender for a hydrogen-based green steel plant on hold due to elevated prices.
Sazgitter’s announcement about delaying the final investment decision on the later stages of the SALCOS project did not, therefore, come as a surprise, according to market participants.
“We are still awaiting the regulatory changes that politicians have promised for a long time, but which have yet to materialize,” the Salzgitter spokeperson told Fastmarkets, before outlining the steps required to support the decarbonization drive in Germany and across Europe: consistent trade protection measures across the EU; sustainably reduced energy costs and planning security guarantees in Germany; the acceleration of hydrogen market ramp-up; and the strengthening of demand for low-CO2 steel products through the establishment of lead markets and the introduction of local content requirements.
In March this year, the European Commission presented its Steel and Metals Action Plan to support the struggling industry, but it remains to be seen how the plan will be implemented and what results it will bring.
So far, the Commission has focuses on tightening trade policies to protect the local market from unfair imports and, in the third quarter of 2025 it is expected to introduce new, tighter, trade measures to replace current steel safeguard measures and to support the domestic steel sector.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, a final draft of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is expected to be published.
Europe’s steel sector remains at the heart of several regional economies in Europe, with about 500 production sites across 22 EU member states, the Commission said. According to EU data, the European steel sector contributes around €80 billion to the trading bloc’s gross domestic product (GDP), supporting more than 2.5 million jobs.
The EU steel industry reduced its capacity by 9 million tonnes per year in 2024, while also announcing 18,000 job cuts, according to European steel association Eurofer.
Crude steel production across Europe amounted to 136.30 million tonnes in 2022, down from 152.60 million tonnes in 2021, according to data from the World Steel Association, worldsteel – mainly due to massive output cuts being implemented by European mills in the third and fourth quarters of 2022 amid deteriorating demand and falling steel prices.
Steel output rebounded slightly to 129.50 million tonnes in 2024, compared with 126.30 million tonnes in 2023, according to worldsteel, but was still below the 159.4 million tonnes produced in 2019 – before the Covid pandemic.
European domestic steel HRC prices steady as market awaits policy news
European domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil were largely unchanged on Monday September 22, with trading being moderate to modest while market participants waited for news about regulatory policies.
A buyer source from Germany said that a price of €580-590 ($684-696) per tonne ex-works would be the maximum achievable on the day in Northern Europe.
Another buyer source reported that suppliers from Germany were concluding deals around €580 per tonne ex-works.
Meanwhile, a re-roller in the Benelux region was reported selling its material at €560 per tonne exw.
Fastmarkets’ calculation of the daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was €577.50 per tonne on Monday, down by €2.50 per tonne from €580.00 per tonne on September 19.
The Northern European index was down by €2.81 per tonne week on week but up by €3.75 per tonne month on month.
The Italian market was quieter, with no transactions reported during the day.
The most recent offers from local mills in the country were around €570 per tonne ex-works, with estimates of workable prices within the range of €540-560 per tonne ex-works, but these were said to be theoretical amid the lack of actual trade.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, was €550.00 per tonne on Monday, unchanged from Friday.
The Italian index was up by €1.25 per tonne week on week and by €9.17 per tonne month on month.
Galvanizer firm bags German environmental award
The German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) is awarding this year’s German Environmental Prize to the management duo of steel galvanizing company ZINQ in Gelsenkirchen.
The receivers are Lars Baumgürtel and engineer Dr Birgitt Bendiek, who head the research and development department at the Gelsenkirchen site, known as ZINQ Futurium, Kallanish notes.
The circular economy practices established at ZINQ include heat recovery, optimised control technology, green electricity, special alloys with minimised resource use, and efficient zinc bath management. According to Baumgürtel, the company has saved approximately 285,000 tonnes of CO2 since 2010.
“The microzinc process is remarkable: classic galvanisation of steel has a coating layer of 80 to 100 micrometres, or µ for short.” 1µ is one thousandth of a millimetre. “With microzinc, we reduce the coating layer to just 10µ.” This is one tenth of a hair strand thickness. The zinc-aluminium alloy in the microzinc bath makes it possible to lower the usual melting point from 450 to 420 degrees Centigrade.
ZINQ has 50 sites in several European countries, with 2,000 employees, processing 550,000 tonnes/year of steel. “To achieve this, we use almost 30,000 tonnes of zinc per year across the entire ZINQ Group,” says Bendiek.
According to the foundation, the prize, worth a total of €500,000 ($589,000), is one of the most highly endowed environmental awards in Europe.
Christian Koehl Germany
