ArcelorMittal reveals Ilva’s new industrial plan

The new industrial plan for the relaunch of former Italian steelmaker Ilva involves an investment of €310 million ($377m) in 2021. It includes the remaking of blast furnace no.5, which has been idled since 2015, and a production ramp-up from the current 3.3 million tonnes/year to 5m t/y in 2021, Kallanish learns from unions.

In a meeting with unions at national trade association Confindustria’s offices in Rome, the new Ilva shareholders, Invitalia and ArcelorMittal Italia, presented a draft of the industrial plan.

The new plan that covers the period 2021-2025 includes the construction of an electric arc furnace. Production will be increased gradually from 5mt this year to 8mt in 2025. Each year from 2022 will see an investment of slightly over €400m, apart from the €300m that will be invested in 2025, sources confirm.

This year, blast furnace no.1 will work at 100% capacity, BF no.2 will be restarted next month and will run at 90% capacity, and BF no.4 will run at 85% capacity. Meltshop no.1 will be restarted on 15 January. However, meltshop no.1 and BF no.4 will be idled in March and April for maintenance works.

In December 2020 ArcelorMittal signed a binding agreement with Invitalia, the Italian state-owned company investing in Ilva. The parties have formed a public-private partnership (see Kallanish passim).