European green steel market quiet despite state-backed decarbonization push; automakers lock in long-term supply
The European market for steel produced with reduced carbon emission content was quiet during the week to Thursday February 26, with only sporadic trades reported recently, sources told Fastmarkets.
At the same time, end-users were seeking long-term supply agreements and future green-steel projects continued to secure additional state funding, Fastmarkets heard.
Across Europe, appetite for low-emission steel remained subdued amid limited engagement from steel service centers.
“Spot sales [of green steel] are close to nil, but for long-term contracts we have more interest,” a seller source told Fastmarkets.
One European steelmaker said that demand for green steel from the distribution chain remained limited, adding that end users need to encourage customers to prioritize green steel.
Fastmarkets’ methodology defines European green steel as steel produced with Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions at a maximum of 0.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per tonne of steel.
During the assessed week, leading European suppliers maintained premiums for such steel at €200-300 ($236-354) per tonne, but admitted that such prices were rarely achieved in transactions.
Buyer sources estimated achievable premiums for green steel with such emission levels at €70-150 per tonne, claiming that producers were prepared to negotiate further on larger volumes to stimulate purchasing.
But mill sources claimed that €150 per tonne was “the minimum premium for steel produced with such emissions, considering its limited availability.”
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green-steel domestic, flat-rolled differential to the hot-rolled coil index, exw Northern Europe was unchanged at €100-150 per tonne on Thursday.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the flat-steel reduced-carbon-emissions differential, exw Northern Europe was €0-50 per tonne on Thursday, also stable week on week.
For steel produced in blast furnaces with reduced carbon emissions of 1.4-1.8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel, offers for premiums were reported at €70-80 per tonne.
Estimates of achievable premiums came in at €0-50 per tonne.
Wider market updates
Market participants are also awaiting policy clarity at the EU level. The European Commission postponed the announcement of the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) to March 4 from the previously expected February 26 amid reported disagreements over local-content requirements and geographic scope.
The IAA is a long-anticipated policy initiative expected to support Europe’s decarbonization efforts and could provide a demand boost for green steel, Fastmarkets reported previously.
While broader demand for low-emission steel has been limited, some major end users were moving to secure volumes through long-term agreements. For example, German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp Steel agreed to supply its CO2 reduced bluemint recycled steel for series production of the BMW iX3 from 2026, including for outer body panels and battery housings, according to a February 23 statement.
The move highlights how automakers seeking green steel were prioritizing long-term contracts with producers even while spot activity remained thin.
Under the agreement, bluemint recycled steel – a mass-balanced product with a high share of recycled content – will be supplied as part of Thyssenkrupp’s broader transition toward carbon-neutral steelmaking.
The company plans to gradually replace coal-based production with a hydrogen-capable direct-reduction plant expected to produce up to 2.5 million tonnes per year of direct-reduced iron, which could cut CO2 emissions by up to 3.5 million tpy.
Thyssenkrupp aims to switch all production to climate-neutral bluemint steel by 2045 at the latest.
Meanwhile, German steelmaker Salzgitter AG secured additional public funding for its SALCOS decarbonization project. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy approved an increase of about €322 million in funding following European Commission approval under state-aid rules on February 6, according to a February 23 release.
The new allocation supplements the roughly €1 billion in state aid approved in 2022, financed 70% by the German federal government and 30% by the state of Lower Saxony.
Salzgitter will invest about €2.3 billion in the first phase of SALCOS, which aims to convert its flagship Salzgitter Flachstahl integrated steelworks to low-CO2 crude-steel production through the installation of an electrolyzer, a hydrogen-based direct-reduction (DRI) plant and an electric-arc furnace (EAF).
The company said previously the project could eliminate up to 95% of the site’s annual CO2 emissions, or about 8 million tonnes.
But in September 2025, Salzgitter delayed parts of the project amid weak market fundamentals and regulatory uncertainty, Fastmarkets reported at the time.
Constrained import remains the dominant force supporting the European domestic HRC market
Ongoing import tightness continues to be the key driver for domestic hot-rolled coil prices in Europe, Fastmarkets heard on Friday February 27.
Lower import activity is explained by the effect of the EU’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and expectations of a new trade regime.
Offers from integrated mills in the region were heard at €700-720 ($826.27-849.88) per tonne delivered (around €680-705 per tonne ex-works). Most sellers said they were largely sold out of April-delivery coil, with May-delivery order books now open.
Estimates of achievable prices were reported at €670-690 per tonne ex-works for April-May delivery coil, depending on tonnage.
While some sellers called demand generally subdued, they confirmed that customers, including service centers, continue to book volumes despite sufficient stocks because buyers realize that the effects of import regulations are real and domestic prices will keep rising.
The same sell-side sources said on February 27 that upward price movements will have a moderate pace in the coming weeks with real demand remaining slow.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was €686.07 per tonne on February 27, up by €0.34 per tonne from €685.73 per tonne on Thursday February 26. The index was up by €6.07 per tonne week on week and by €36.57 per tonne month on month.
Fastmarkets’ corresponding daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Italy was calculated at €670.63 per tonne on Friday, stable day on day. The index was up by €9.31 per tonne week on week and by €32.67 per tonne month on month.
Offers of May-delivery HRC were heard at €700-720 per tonne delivered (around €685-705 per tonne ex-works) from integrated suppliers and re-rollers. Tradeable levels were still reported at €680-690 per tonne delivered (around €665-675 per tonne ex-works).
One buyer said €680-685 per tonne ex-works could be achieved for smaller tonnages.
Most recent import HRC offers from Turkey were heard at €640 per tonne DDP and €630 per tonne DDP from Algeria.
Global DRI output up 11.5 percent in January 2026
According to the data released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), global direct reduced iron (DRI) production in the 12 countries accounting for approximately 85 percent of total world DRI production in 2025 amounted to 10.24 million metric tons in January this year, decreasing by 9.9 percent month on month and up by 11.5 percent year on year.
The worldsteel data show that India was the largest DRI producer among the countries surveyed in January this year, with its DRI output amounting to 5.37 million metric tons in the given month. India was followed by Iran, Russia and Egypt in January, with outputs of 2 million mt, 750,000 mt and 603,000 mt, respectively.
EUROMETAL Southern Europe Meeting 2026: The shadow of industrial desertification
During the panel discussion “Rolling in the deep! Are we risking EU industrial desertification?”, held during the EUROMETAL Southern Europe Meeting 2026 on February 26 in Milan, Franco Felisa (ESN, Electromechanics Synergy Network), Tommaso Sandrini (Assofermet, San Polo Lamiere), Tayfun Iseri (YİSAD/Çolakoğlu Metalurji), and Piotr Sikorski (PUDS) debated the growing risk of industrial desertification in Europe.
Franco Felisa opened the debate with a lucid analysis of current market pressures, highlighting how European companies must face raw material and energy costs that are 40-50 percent higher than those of global competitors. He even evoked an extreme proposal that had already circulated in mid-February, namely, a coordinated shutdown of plants for an entire day as an act of protest. “Talking to Brussels is painful,” he noted, adding, “They listen, but then they ask you for numbers, as if they don’t live in the same reality.”
The same risk of industrial desertification is present in the Polish market, as highlighted by Piotr Sikorski, who said it does not only concern large producers. Sikorski explained how the crisis is hitting distribution: “There’s no single week when I don’t have a call from a distributor who is closing their lines or reducing their activity. Deindustrialization is not an idea hanging somewhere over there, but an ongoing process. To stop it, we must actively focus on the areas not represented by the government: distributors, users and small businesses.”
From Poland, the focus shifted to Turkey, one of Europe’s closest partners. Turkish production capacity is around 40 million mt, of which 20-25 million mt are exported to Europe. According to Tayfun Iseri, the market is facing several difficulties, but the biggest problem is the constant concern over costs. He stated, “We’re too focused on the cost problem, when the real problem is that we don’t know how to grow demand.” Regarding the risk of relocation, Iseri emphasized that most Turkish industries are family-owned and very proud of this: they would do everything possible to avoid bankruptcy, but it is unknown how long they can survive.
The environmental paradox
The hottest topic remains climate regulations. Although the goal of decarbonization is shared, the methodology is a subject of criticism. Felisa defined CBAM and safeguards as “accelerators of desertification”. “Both systems work for and against us,” Sikorski added.
In his intervention, Tommaso Sandrini observed that time is running out and that in two years, when downstream products become part of the scope of CBAM, we will have lost downstream sectors that will not return. “There is an increasing level of awareness within the economic community, but we do not see the same level of awareness within political institutions, even less in Brussels,” he commented.
In addition to the complexity and implementation of CBAM, Sandrini also criticized its environmental effectiveness. “European steel accounts for only 0.3 percent of global emissions. We are killing our value chains for a result that is irrelevant on a global level,” he said. The perception among participants at the EUROMETAL event was that CBAM was born as an environmental protection measure, only to become a true trade defense tool. “Nobody is saying anything about the environment right now. This is crazy,” commented Sikorski. Iseri added, “We started from the environment, but I think now it’s turning into a kind of protectionism.”
In essence, the speakers agreed that the time for diplomacy is up, stressing that Europe must protect not only those who produce steel, but especially those who use it. Otherwise, they concluded, the continent’s future will be that of a large buyer of finished products, with a manufacturing industry reduced to a distant memory.
EUROMETAL Southern Europe Meeting 2026: Vezzosi and Julius warn of risks of deindustrialization amid CBAM, safeguards and rising costs
The first panel at the “EUROMETAL Southern Europe Meeting 2026” hosted by EUROMETAL and Assofermet in Milan, February 26, opened with a clear message: the risk of the deindustrialization of the European Union is no longer an hypothesis, but a dynamic that the industry – along the entire steel supply chain – already perceives as real. The core of the discussion was the combined impact of trade measures, regulatory costs and growing global competitive pressure.
Cinzia Vezzosi, president of Assofermet, framed the issue as “systemic” and not limited to the steel sector alone. Vezzosi recalled how the EU has adopted measures with shared objectives (tackling environmental dumping, protecting domestic production, the ecological transition), but called for a look at their effectiveness, stating, “Are these instruments really strengthening the EU’s ability to compete or, on the contrary, do they risk undermining it deeply?”
According to the president of Assofermet, CBAM – created to rebalance competition – risks turning into a heavy burden for distribution and processing, i.e., for those segments that are already operating in global markets and are serving downstream manufacturing. The competitive gap, she said, could become structural. When this happens, she said, “deindustrialization begins”, with direct effects on employment, industrial capacity and the resistance of the value chain.
Vezzosi called for a change of pace in the European approach, asking for consistency between transition and competitiveness, stating, “This is not a corporative appeal, rather a systemic appeal. We ask environmental policies to be accompanied by industrial policies and that the protection of production does not end up penalizing processing and distribution. Above all, we ask for competitiveness to become a central issue of European choices and decisions.”
Next, Alexander Julius, president of EUROMETAL, shifted the focus to the resilience of European manufacturing, recalling that the supply chain does not end with primary steel. Distribution and user sectors make all the difference, he said, because without those who transform and incorporate steel into finished products, industrial demand and, consequently, the very sustainability of the segment in Europe are lacking.
In his speech, Julius insisted on a key point: the current combination of trade measures and environmental regulations, with rising costs and still unclear details, is generating a level of uncertainty that the industry considers dangerous. In his opinion, this not only affects the accounts of companies, but also the ability to plan and invest. “The industry needs certainties: at least we need to be able to make calculations. And, unfortunately, this is lacking today,” he said, warning that the absence of a predictable framework risks translating into rising costs that are difficult to manage when the measures are fully operational.
Julius then launched a further alarm signal on the degree of market readiness, stating, “I fear that many companies are not ready and that they are only partially considering these costs in their calculations. And this could turn into a surprise towards the end of 2027, when it will be time to pay.” In the context of the debate on CBAM, this came as a reminder of the need for tools and application rules to be defined quickly, to avoid distorting effects along the value chain.
Finally, Julius underlined the political dimension of the issue. According to the president of EUROMETAL, “European institutions will do nothing without pressure from national governments. This is why we must remain united and do something together,” adding that EUROMETAL is preparing a Europe-wide initiative, open to the involvement of interested associations in addition to Assofermet, with the aim of building a common position and a coordinated action “to be started immediately”, because – he concluded – “We have to do something now”.
European coil and green steel round-up: EU coil prices climb further supported by CBAM, new quotas
European coil prices jumped in the week to 27 February as extended lead times, solid mill orderbooks, and import deterrents continue to balance the scales of the market in mills’ favour.
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices in both North and South Europe climbed by EUR15/t on the week. Market sources reported incrementally higher offers at EUR710-750/t delivered in Northwest Europe, with deals settling at EUR690-700/t delivered, or the ex-works equivalent of EUR660-690/t.
In Italy, trading price indications clustered at a very slight discount between EUR660-680/t ex-works, otherwise operating on similar dynamics as in North Europe.
While the market was fairly unanimous in expecting higher prices in Q1 as compared to 2025 levels due to supply-side drivers like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the upcoming redesign of steel import quotas, the lack of recovery in steel consumption is starting to give both sides of the market pause as relates to the sustainability of the current upward trend.
“The price rise is purely due to new policies, while demand is unchanged,” said an Italian trader. “Importing is becoming far more complicated as everyone wants to buy DDP, but we need to price-in risk from the new quotas, and we have no clarity there. It’s clear the quotas will be slashed, but the country-specific allocations are uncertain.”
Distributors were said to have increased their own sales prices to consumers by around EUR20/t, but “are in no hurry to sell,” as described by a German stockholder, due to the upcoming quota cuts and the expectation of higher prices as a result.
A Benelux distributor considered market dynamics as largely unchanged, “except that end-users can more clearly see that further price increases are inevitable – that does make it easier to close sales.”
Cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized coil (CRC/HDG) prices experienced similar gains as HRC, with dealings breaking above EUR800/t delivered. Domestic buyers remain concerned about the availability of downstream coils on both existing and upcoming import barriers — Brazilian exporters were said to be capitalizing on this dynamic, offering CRC “actively” into Europe at EUR690-720/t DDP Antwerp, due to their non-inclusion in the CRC anti-dumping framework, and competitive default values under CBAM.
A German distributor described CBAM as a “Sword of Damocles” hanging over the market, with default values presenting an existential risk to smaller, more import-dependent operators.
Green Steel
Despite its long anticipation, at the close of this week McCloskey exclusively reported that the EU’s first official green steel definition – the voluntary low carbon steel label – could be at risk due to wider frictions in the drafting of the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA).
Green steel standardisation via the label was a priority of the European Commission, as stated in its Steel and Metals Action Plan, both for the clarity it could give buyers in securing material with true emissions reductions, and the intention to link the standard to public procurement mandates to stimulate domestic low-carbon markets.
A full abandonment of the low carbon label has not been confirmed, and sources expect that if the IAA does neglect to include the label, the debate would be revisited under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), with a steel-related delegated act already scheduled for this year.
Otherwise it was largely business as usual in the green steel segment, though one green steelmaking executive said the low-carbon market is “quietly gaining momentum,” mainly driven by construction. National governments were also said to be giving a “soft push” in their jurisdictions for the increased use of low-carbon steels, and that CBAM has “woken people up to the realisation that decarbonisation is a policy that cannot be ignored.”
The automotive sector was described as one of the only segments still realistically purchasing mass-balanced low-carbon material, due to production history requirements for inclusion in their supply chains.
Green HRC premia were reported on a range of EUR80-100/t for spot buyers of EAF-based material of around 0.7t CO2e/t, while higher premiums were available in deals to project buyers, or material of particularly low CO2 content of around 0.3t CO2e/t.
| Weekly European steel coil | |||||
| EUR/t | Term | 27-Feb-26 | Change | ||
| Weekly Northwest Europe steel coil | |||||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HRC | EX-WORKS | 680.00 | 15.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works CRC | EX-WORKS | 780.00 | 5.00 | ||
| Northwest Europe ex-works HDG | EX-WORKS | 780.00 | 5.00 | ||
| Weekly South Europe steel coil | |||||
| Italy ex-works HRC | EX-WORKS | 675.00 | 10.00 | ||
| South Europe CIF HRC | CIF | 540.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Source: McCloskey by OPIS. | © 2026 Dow Jones Energy Limited. | ||||
| Weekly green steel | |||
| EUR/t | Term | 27-Feb-26 | Change |
| Green Northwest Europe HRC premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 0.8t) | 80.00 | 0.00 | |
| Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-3) | EX-WORKS | 760.00 | 15.00 |
| Green HRC premium (scopes 1-2 CO2 under 0.5t) | 80.00 | 0.00 | |
| Green Northwest Europe ex-works HRC (scopes 1-2) | EX-WORKS | 760.00 | 15.00 |
| Green HRC reduced carbon price (scopes 1-3) | 64.32 | 7.57 | |
Author: Benjamin Steven, Maria Tanatar
EU’s green steel label at risk amid IAA criteria debate
The presentation of the EU’s low-carbon steel label – originally to be included as part of the European Commission’s upcoming Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) – is now uncertain, McCloskey understands from sources close to the drafting process, potentially a casualty of wider frictions on the IAA’s public procurement and support provisions.
The IAA was originally scheduled for presentation in December last year, but has been postponed multiple times and is currently expected in early March.
Pursuing the Commission’s commitments under last year’s Steel and Metals Action Plan, the IAA was set to introduce the EU’s first official ‘definition’ or ‘standard’ for green steel in the form of a voluntary low-carbon label, which would then be linked to public procurement and support scheme criteria to establish domestic lead markets for low-carbon steel products and support industrial decarbonisation.
However, as demonstrated by the legislation’s significant delay, the drafting process for the IAA has been complicated by disagreements between member states, and even within the EU’s steelmaking lobby as to the scope of both the domestic and low-carbon content requirements, and the form of the voluntary label itself.
The debate on public procurement and support criteria primarily surrounds the inclusion of a “Made in Europe” mandate into the EU framework, forcing purchasers to prioritise domestic content for public projects. While strict “Made in Europe” requirements were introduced and supported by France, other states such as Germany prefer a “Made with Europe” approach, in-line with the original leak of the IAA, which would take a more relaxed approach in ‘extending’ European origin status to a club of EU trading partners.
As of the latest leaked IAA draft, public procurement and support relating to steel products would have to constitute at least 25% low-carbon material, but are not subject to a domestic content mandate or directly defined as a ‘strategic sector’ such to benefit from wider provisions. European steel association Eurofer has called for only steel “melted and poured in the EU” (or EEA countries) to quality for lead market support, else the European Commission “risks financing green steel production from abroad instead of strengthening its own industrial base.’’
As for the low-carbon label, even Europe’s steelmakers are split on the design and implementation of the EU’s first ‘green steel standard’: integrated producers generally support the inclusion of a ‘sliding scale’ mechanism, which would give greener classifications to products the lower their constituent scrap share, whereas secondary steelmakers oppose this formulation, arguing it would be unjust for their cleaner scrap-based material to be considered equivalent to high-polluting blast furnace material, especially if linked to procurement mandates.
The leaked IAA draft and its annexes allude to the inclusion of a sliding scale into the label, adjusting classification thresholds where the steel has a 20-90% scrap share, but does not otherwise define the specific scope or boundaries of the proposed label’s elements.
Secondary electric-arc furnace (EAF) producers predominantly serve the domestic construction sector, which already has sustainability obligations embedded into the Construction Product Regulation (CPR), and so EAF producers and construction consumers fear regulatory overcomplications from the introduction of a competing standard. The original leak of the IAA would also allow third-country producers to gain certification under the proposed label, potentially exposing domestic EAF steelmakers to pressure from international direct-reduced iron-fed EAF production (DRI-EAF). DRI-EAF steels could receive a better classification due to their lesser scrap content, compounded by the comparatively low emissions profile of DRI-based imports.
McCloskey understands from those close to the drafting process that Germany – with a stronger representation of integrated producers – is in favour of the sliding scale, while Italy – with more secondary production – opposed the inclusion of the mechanism. A third position, proposed by France, would reserve the sliding scale for the classification of flat steel, while maintaining existing standards for long steel markets.
According to McCloskey’s sources, the debate surrounding the label may have been one battle too many for the European Commission, now allegedly considering abandoning the standard, to be potentially revisited in the scheduled delegated act for steel products under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
Representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) confirmed that they had heard rumours of the removal, and generally lamented that the label could become a casualty of complications with the content mandates, and overshadow or similarly burden the subsequent implementation of the ESPR.
German steel association WV Stahl declined to comment on the potential removal of the label from the scope of the IAA, instead directing McCloskey to a press statement 27 February calling for “the mandatory linking of sustainability requirements with ‘Made in EU’ criteria” as part of the IAA”, as per “commitments made in the [Steel and Metals Action Plan].”
Giving some insight into the debates guiding the Commission’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, WV Stahl “warns against mixing up different political instruments.”
“Regulatory projects that are already advanced—such as the ongoing negotiations on a post-safeguard instrument—should not be used as an argument against binding “Made in EU” criteria within the framework of the IAA,” said the association.
WV Stahl supports limiting “Made in EU” status to member states and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, in-line with Eurofer’s recommendation.
The European Commission was approached for comment, but did not respond by time of publication.
European heavy plate round-up: Heavy plate prices up in Germany, down in Italy
Domestic heavy plate prices inched up in Germany and remained stable in Italy over the week to 27 February, while restocking activity has been muted.
In Italy, re-rollers continued to aim for EUR750/t ex-works, but such prices were achieved only in deals settled for projects for the material with higher added value. Spot buyers booked limited volumes at EUR700-740/t ex-works.
Big stockists have not returned to the market looking for volumes yet, but their price ideas are closer to EUR700/t delivered. Sellers have not accepted such prices.
Re-rollers in Italy claim that they have solid order books – selling late March-April rolling – and they feel no pressure to give discounts.
In addition, they need to maintain higher plate prices to cover potentially high Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) duties for imported slab. Re-rollers estimated CBAM duties for imported slab at EUR30-80/t based on actual emission values. But until exporters obtain the certifications – in 2027 for imports during 2026 – European re-rollers risk that the duties would be calculated based on default values resulting in substantially higher costs.
“CBAM duties for slabs looks well covered by current plate prices, taking into account price rises earlier this year. But this is based on actual values. The risk remains that the costs would be much higher based on default values,” an Italian trader said.
Offers of imported slab in Italy have been reported at $540-550/t CIF, though no transactions have been heard.
In Germany, due to lack of trading activity in the commodity grade plate segment, mills have been trying to focus on sales to projects or under long-term contracts.
“Stockists and cutting centres report a bad turnover in February. So, the mood is worsening and therewith the ex-stock prices cannot be increased and re-purchases are less,” a German distributor said.
German mills have been offering s235jr plate at EUR770-810/t ex-works and s355jr material at EUR850/t delivered.
Offers of s355jr plate from Scandinavia have been reported at EUR850/t delivered Northwest Europe. Italian mills have been offering the similar material at EUR820-830/t delivered Germany.
Offers of imported s355jr plate from South Korea, India and Brazil have been reported at EUR760-800/t DDP Antwerp, posing competition to European suppliers.
| Weekly European heavy plate, slab and green steel | |||||
| Unit | Term | 27-Feb-26 | Change | ||
| Weekly heavy plate | |||||
| Northwest Europe ex-works heavy plate | EUR/t | EX-WORKS | 770.00 | 20.00 | |
| Germany delivered heavy plate (Northwest Europe) | EUR/t | DEL | 820.00 | 20.00 | |
| Italy ex-works heavy plate | EUR/t | EX-WORKS | 720.00 | 0.00 | |
| Weekly steel slab | |||||
| Italy CFR slab | $/t | CFR | 535.00 | 5.00 | |
| Weekly green steel | |||||
| Green heavy plate premium (scopes 1-3 CO2 under 1t) | EUR/t | 25.00 | 0.00 | ||
Court orders part production suspension at ADI
A Milan court ordered Acciaierie d’Italia (ADI) to suspend production at its Taranto plant on health grounds, although the ruling will only become effective on 24 August pending required environmental interventions, the industry’s trade unions UILM and FIM-CISL said.
The ruling followed a legal petition from several Taranto citizens.
The court ruling “required the extraordinary administration of ADI to comply with the provisions of the AIA [Integrated Environmental Authorization], under penalty of the suspension of production in the hot-rolling area of the plant,” UILM said.
No information was confirmed regarding the equipment which could be suspended.
“The reference is to the partial, rather than total, non-application of the Integrated AIA, specifically of certain provisions contained therein that the judges are requesting be supplemented,” FIM-CISL said. The union requested clarifications on the matter.
UILM criticized the Italian authorities for lack of communication and clarity on the production and environmental plans for ADI. The union also highlighted that the legal challenges combined with the limited financing make it difficult for ADI’s extraordinary administration to ensure sustainable production.
Earlier this week, ADI temporarily idled blast furnace (BF) No. 4 for maintenance until end of April. BF No. 2 was restarted on 10 February. The steelmaker plans to double steel production to 4 mt/y by end April 2026, and to continue operating two furnaces. But the recent court ruling could disrupt those plans.
ADI is currently in the process of being sold, with Flacks Group, a United States-based investment firm focused on the turnaround of distressed businesses, discussed in the market as a likely new owner. The tender has not yet been finalized.