Category: Latest Updates

Swedish green steel start-up Stegra has agreed a long-term tolling agreement with German-based processor Wuppermann to galvanize its steel products, Kallanish hears. 

Wuppermann specialises in steel galvanizing with five production sites across Europe. Stegra’s agreement is with its Dutch branch, Wuppermann Staal Nederland.

According to Stegra, the galvanizing plant in the Netherlands has the lowest carbon footprint in Europe. “Together with Stegra, this is the start of a partnership across the value chain that is setting new standards for sustainable steel,” the Swedish company says.

Separately, Wuppermann has announced a change in its management. Ulrike Claus will join the executive board on 1 September to replace Arndt Lassmann, who will leave the company to retire.

As chief financial officer, Claus will take over all departments and areas of responsibility previously managed by Lassmann. Claus began her professional career in 2001 at Thyssenkrupp AG in Essen and was most recently the managing director and cfo of Gedore Holding GmbH in Remscheid.

 

ArcelorMittal is raising its long product prices by €25/tonne ($28.5/t) for commodity grade sections, rebar and wire rod, market sources tell Kallanish.

The current market remains difficult for producers, with the resumption of conflict in the Middle East pushing up gas, electricity and freight costs. Other long product mills in Europe, particularly for rebar, are also raising prices ahead of the August shutdown due to soaring costs.

Several sources describe the European long product market as quiet but expect a pickup in September with higher prices as activity resumes. One source expects this to be supported by the impact of the sharply reduced quota allocations on certain products such as wire rod and rebar, particularly for Eastern European countries accustomed to importing large volumes.

Scrap prices fell this month but are seen to have bottomed out. Many EU countries are now entering the summer holiday and maintenance shutdown period, with activity reduced and contracts being concluded for small tonnages only.

 

In June this year, Germany’s crude steel output increased by 9.5 percent year on year to 2.93 million mt, according to data released by the German Steel Federation (WV Stahl). In the first half of 2026, Germany’s crude steel production rose by 8.9 percent year on year to 18.63 million mt.

In June, Germany’s pig iron output amounted to 1.73 million mt, up 6.3 percent year on year, while production in the January-June period increased by 9.3 percent to 11.63 million mt.

Meanwhile, the country’s hot rolled steel output rose by eight percent year on year to 2.69 million mt in June and increased by 5.4 percent to 16.11 million mt in the first six months of the year.

WV Stahl says recovery remains fragile

WV Stahl stated that despite the positive developments seen in recent months, it is still too early to declare a full recovery. The federation noted that annual crude steel production currently stands at 37.7 million mt, remaining below the 40 million mt threshold generally considered necessary for adequate capacity utilization across the steel industry. It also warned that the recent improvement does not yet indicate a sustainable recovery, adding that annual crude steel output is still projected to reach only around 37 million mt, below the level considered necessary for economically viable capacity utilization.

According to Kerstin Maria Rippel, CEO of WV Stahl, the increase in production mainly reflects a technical rebound, including inventory replenishment, rather than a genuine recovery in steel demand. She stated that demand from Germany’s main steel-consuming sectors, including construction, mechanical engineering and the automotive industry, has remained too weak to support a sustained recovery.

Federation welcomes new EU steel trade defense measures

Rippel also highlighted continued pressure from steel imports into the EU during the first half of the year. Against this backdrop, she welcomed the EU’s new steel trade defense instrument, which entered into force on July 1 and introduces country- and product-specific tariff-rate quotas, with imports exceeding those quotas becoming subject to an additional 50 percent tariff.

According to Rippel, the measure is essential for safeguarding steel production in Germany and the wider EU, ensuring that any future recovery in demand benefits European steel producers through higher capacity utilization.

WV Stahl calls for stronger demand and lower energy costs

Rippel stressed that additional measures are needed to stimulate domestic demand. She called for the rapid implementation of planned public investments, including projects financed under Germany’s Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality (SVIKG), arguing that these investments should be directed toward projects that strengthen industrial value creation, resilience and climate neutrality in Germany and across the EU.

The WV Stahl CEO further emphasized the importance of public procurement policy, calling for procurement rules that consider sustainability, security of supply and local industrial value creation alongside price. She stated that a binding “Made in EU” criterion would be particularly important in ensuring that public infrastructure investments help create lead markets for low-emission industrial materials.

In addition, Rippel reiterated that improving Germany’s industrial competitiveness requires lower energy costs. She called for a reliable industrial electricity price of €50/MWh, including grid charges, taxes and levies. Rippel also urged the German government to fully maintain, stabilize and further develop existing measures, including the grid fee subsidy, electricity price compensation scheme and industrial electricity price support, while allowing these mechanisms to be combined.

 

Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil (HRC) edged downward slightly in Northern Europe on Tuesday July 21, but trading activity was slow in the region, sources told Fastmarkets. Prices remained stable in Italy, with market participants citing weak market sentiment amid the approaching summer holiday time.

In Northern Europe, a buyer reported an indication of workable levels at €700-710 ($800-811) per tonne ex-works and an offer at €730-740 per tonne ex-works for fourth-quarter delivery. The higher offer was discarded due to the lack of buying interest at that level and the longer delivery lead time.

However, a second buyer said they did not believe €700 per tonne ex-works “has been achieved in reality yet” but could not provide an indication of tradable levels. “Summer vacations [are having an effect], plus the dust has to settle from the customs clearance matters first,” the same source added.

Due to a lack of fresh input from market participants, price data collected on July 20 was carried over to Tuesday’s index, in line with Fastmarkets’ methodology.

On Monday, a buyer source reported offers at €720-725 per tonne ex-works. A supplier reported deals at €705 per tonne ex-works on the same day, while offers reached €730 per tonne ex-works. The higher offer level was not considered in the index due to the lack of buying interest.

Additionally, all buyer-side price points included in Tuesday’s index were copied over to the sell side.

Market activity was slow on July 21, with trade sources citing weak demand during the approaching summer holiday period.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index domestic, exw Northern Europe was calculated at €712.29 per tonne on July 21, down by €1.46 per tonne from €713.75 per tonne on July 20.

The index was up by €2.29 per tonne week on week and up by €26.03 per tonne month on month.

In Italy, a trade source reported a deal from a major supplier at €700-710 per tonne ex-works for September delivery, adding that they expected a “big step would happen in September after [the summer] vacation.”

A second trader reported indications of workable levels at €710-720 per tonne ex-works. However, no transactions were reported within that range, while trading activity remained limited amid weak market sentiment. As a result, the price was not given sufficient weight to influence Tuesday’s index.

On July 20, a seller reported a deal at €700 per tonne ex-works, which was carried over to Tuesday’s index, in line with Fastmarkets’ methodology.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel HRC index domestic, exw Italy was €702.50 per tonne on Tuesday, unchanged day on day.

The index was up by €3.12 per tonne week on week and up by €20 per tonne month on month.

 

Despite earlier promises, the European Commission’s proposed reform of the ETS carbon market did not include provisions to support EU exporters of goods covered by the CBAM tax on carbon-intensive goods.

EU steel lobby Eurofer said this long-awaited proposal “is still missing”.

While CBAM shields EU producers of goods such as steel and fertilisers from imports, industry argues that it leaves exporters exposed.

For Fertilizers Europe, the reform’s proposal to delay, from 2034 to 2038, a phase-out of free ETS allowances for CBAM-covered sectors is not enough.

The lobby group Cement Europe reiterated its support for the phase-out — provided CBAM protections are “watertight … both for imports and exports”.

The Business for CBAM Coalition of firms investing in industrial decarbonisation said the proposal punishes companies that invested in greener technologies while failing to protect exporters.

The NGO Bellona said the Commission’s move “risks squandering the EU’s credibility with investors and trading partners alike”.

French Renew MEP Pascal Canfin, one of Parliament’s CBAM leads, criticised the delayed phase-out of free allowances as an “incoherent signal” as the EU considers extending the levy to new sectors.

contexte.com

The European Commission has announced that it has presented a proposal to revise the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) alongside a new Electrification Action Plan aimed at accelerating industrial decarbonization, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and making the EU the world’s first “electro-powered continent.”

The Commission stated that although around 70 percent of the EU’s electricity is now generated from domestic clean energy sources, the electrification rate of final energy demand has remained at 23 percent over the past decade. It will therefore assess an indicative electrification target of 46 percent by 2040 as part of the post-2030 Energy Union package. Achieving this target could reduce the EU’s annual fossil fuel import bill by €260 billion by 2040 while improving energy security, lowering energy costs and enhancing industrial competitiveness.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that reducing Europe’s dependence on imported fossil fuels requires accelerating the use of electricity generated from domestic clean energy sources. She added that the proposed measures are intended to lower electricity prices, adapt the EU carbon market to changing global conditions, support industrial decarbonization and strengthen Europe’s energy independence.

Commission proposes changes to ETS framework

As part of the ETS review, the Commission proposed updating the Linear Reduction Factor (LRF) to 3.7 percent for the 2031-35 period and 1.7 percent for 2036-40, creating a more gradual emissions reduction pathway while maintaining alignment with the EU Climate Law. The proposal would also allow the use of up to two percent high-quality international carbon credits during the 2036-40 period to support decarbonization projects abroad and provide additional flexibility as domestic emissions reductions become more difficult.

The Commission also proposed expanding financial support for industrial decarbonization. The Industrial Decarbonisation Bank would receive €100 billion to finance large-scale industrial decarbonization projects across Europe, while an ETS Investment Booster would become available before 2030 as the bank’s first implementation phase. The ETS Innovation Fund would continue supporting the commercialization of innovative low-carbon technologies, and member states would be required to allocate 50 percent of their national ETS revenues to decarbonizing ETS-covered sectors, representing more than €100 billion in investments before 2030.

The proposal would maintain free ETS allowances beyond 2030 while linking them more closely to investments in decarbonization within Europe. It also introduces permanent carbon removals into the ETS to provide additional flexibility for hard-to-abate sectors and support the deployment of carbon removal technologies.

In a separate proposal on ETS benchmarks, the Commission plans to increase free allocation to industry by approximately €6 billion during the 2026-30 period. For sectors covered by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the phase-out of free allowances would be slowed, with free allocation extended until 2038.

The Commission also proposed reforming the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) to improve market stability, maintain liquidity and reduce excessive carbon price volatility. The proposal complements the Commission’s earlier initiative to stop the automatic cancellation of allowances held in the reserve.

In addition, the revised ETS would strengthen provisions covering the aviation and maritime sectors and extend the system to waste incineration in an effort to create new business opportunities, reduce circumvention risks and align the EU framework with international developments.

Electrification Action Plan targets lower energy costs

Alongside the ETS review, the Commission unveiled its Electrification Action Plan, which seeks to accelerate the adoption of electricity-based technologies across transport, buildings and industry. According to the Commission, battery electric vehicles can reduce operating costs by up to 78 percent compared with conventional vehicles, while replacing gas boilers with heat pumps can lower household heating costs by up to 60 percent on average across the EU.

To accelerate electrification, the Commission proposed measures to narrow the price gap between electricity and fossil fuels by allowing member states to reduce network charges for certain consumer groups and lower taxes for energy-intensive industries. The proposal also aims to ensure electricity is not taxed more heavily than natural gas while promoting the deployment of smart meters to help consumers better manage energy consumption. The Electrification Action Plan also proposes measures to reduce the upfront costs of technologies such as heat pumps, electric vehicles and batteries through instruments including social leasing schemes, ETS financial instruments, the Social Climate Fund, the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank and a Clean Heat Market mechanism.

The Commission further emphasized the need to accelerate electricity grid deployment, noting that although Europe’s grids are among the world’s most reliable, lengthy connection waiting times and insufficient grid utilization continue to hinder electrification. It called for the rapid adoption of the Grids Package proposed last year, while also promoting investment in manufacturing capacity, workforce skills and clean energy technologies to support the broader electrification of the European economy.

EUROFER warns key decarbonization challenges remain unresolved

Following the Commission’s announcement, the European Steel Association (EUROFER) stated that the proposal to revise the EU ETS fails to address several key issues that continue to undermine the business case for industrial decarbonization, despite adjustments to the phase-out of free emission allowances. Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER, said the central question remains how European steelmakers will gain access to affordable electricity and renewable hydrogen. He stated that companies are still expected to invest billions of euros in low-carbon production technologies without certainty that the necessary electricity and hydrogen infrastructure will be available, that sufficient clean electricity will be supplied, or that energy prices will remain competitive enough to support European steel production and its downstream value chains.

Eggert also argued that the proposed changes to the phase-out of free ETS allowances do not significantly reduce investment uncertainty. He noted that the reduction in free allocation for the steel sector around 2029-30 remains largely unchanged, while the existing benchmark methodology could still result in a substantial reduction in the main steel benchmark in 2031, weakening both carbon leakage protection and incentives for companies investing early in decarbonization. He emphasized that the proposal also fails to introduce the long-awaited structural solution for exports from sectors covered by the CBAM.

In addition, the association warned that the new conditions attached to free allocation would increase administrative requirements and legal uncertainty, particularly where investment decisions depend on factors outside companies’ direct control. Eggert stated that although the EU has set ambitious climate targets, it has yet to deliver the enabling conditions that it has repeatedly promised across all member states. Without those conditions, he argued, the ETS establishes a deadline for decarbonization without providing a credible pathway to achieve it.

He added that the European steel industry has already committed to replacing around 35 percent of its conventional steelmaking capacity with hydrogen-ready facilities by the 2030-32 period. However, expecting the sector to complete the transition by the end of 2033 without the necessary supporting conditions is unrealistic, warning that failure to provide those conditions could result in the loss of a significant share of Europe’s steel industry rather than its successful decarbonization.

 

Italian long product prices are holding stable amid very weak activity, with extremely limited restocking ahead of the August shutdowns and high enough stock levels to cover current demand, Kallanish notes.

Some longs prices have started to decline while others are holding as sales remain limited to very small volumes for which customers do not negotiate prices, not because demand is strong,

Mills remain under pressure from high production costs and have implemented stoppages in June and July, which have also contributed to the fall in Italian scrap prices alongside lower international levels. Producers have been cutting output to rebalance supply and demand following months of weak sales. Some are currently idled and plan to resume production in August to take advantage of the lower energy costs typical of that month.

Agents and distributors report some pickup in demand for sheets tubes following the new EU quotas, with activity ticking up slightly since last week. Long product sales, particularly merchant bar, remain particularly weak.

Downstream sources do not expect any demand recovery for long products before August and say the seasonal slowdown is already well underway. Two downstream sources describe the second quarter as one of the worst in a very long time.

That said, two large distributors say they have managed to navigate the difficult conditions by offering value-added services such as combining multiple dimensions and grades in a single truckload and supplying the small volumes that customers currently require.

Merchant bar prices are holding firm week-on-week at €340-350/tonne ($388.5-400/t) delivered or €760-770/t including size extras. This is, however, a decline of some €20/t compared to June. Spanish material is available at around €330/t.

First-category sections are also stable hovering at €800-810/t delivered, sources suggest.

 

The European Commission has published its long-awaited Emissions Trading System (ETS) review, proposing the free emissions allocations reduction be slowed and the phase-out extended beyond 2034 until 2038. Moreover, Members States will be required to spend 50% of their national ETS revenues on investments to decarbonise ETS sectors, Kallanish notes.

Free allocation distribution will be extended beyond 2030, but will from 2031 become conditional upon operators developing Invest in EU Decarbonisation Plans and investing an amount equivalent to 100% of the value of their free allocation into decarbonisation in the EU.

The total number of EU ETS emissions allowances, otherwise known as the cap, will meanwhile see an adjustment in the reduction trajectory from 2031, meaning allowances will continue to be issued into the 2040s. The Linear Reduction Factor (LRF) has been updated to 3.7% for 2031-2035 and 1.7% for 2036-2040.

The current LRF of 4.3% (4.4% from 2028-2030) was agreed as part of the 2023 ETS reform to deliver the EU’s 2030 climate target. “Simply maintaining that rate beyond 2030 would not provide a realistic trajectory for the period up to 2040. It would reduce the ETS cap to zero around 2040, going beyond what is required under the European Climate Law,” the European Commission says.

“The proposal maintains the environmental integrity of the EU ETS while providing a more predictable and manageable investment framework for industry over the longer term,” it adds.

The Industrial Decarbonisation Bank (IDB) will provide €100 billion in decarbonisation project funding. In the first phase, the Investment Booster will provide an estimated €30 billion of support for 2028-2030, financed through 400 million ETS allowances. It will accelerate investment before 2030. Projects will be supported on a first-come, first-served basis, while ensuring dedicated access for lower-income Member States.

Moreover, the use of high-integrity international credits will be permitted from 2036, as set out under the European Climate Law. A facility will be established to purchase these credits to create additional emissions space in the EU ETS of up to 2%.

The Market Stability Reserve will be made more dynamic, with its parameters adjusted to the shrinking market after 2030. The rate at which it absorbs allowances will drop to 12% from the current 24%, a change that will mean more permits can stay in the market for longer.

The ETS is nevertheless “not the main driver of electricity prices”, the Commission points out. “Electricity bills are determined primarily by the cost of supplying electricity, network charges, and national taxes and levies. The biggest structural driver of high and volatile electricity prices remains Europe’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, particularly gas.”

Announced alongside the ETS review, the Commission’s Electrification Action Plan targets better use of electricity grids, better design network charges, deployment of smart meters and flexibility solutions, and aligning electricity taxation with the EU’s electrification objectives.

The EU Council and Parliament must finalise their positions on the ETS proposal by the end of this year so that the trilogue can begin in January, according to Peter Liese MEP, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the ETS reform.

 

Italy’s crude steel production reached 1.9 million tons in June 2026, up 6.1% compared to the same month of the previous year.

According to data from the Italian steel producers’ association Federacciai, total crude steel production reached 11.5 million tons in the January-June period, supported by an acceleration in output growth during the second quarter of the year.
Federacciai’s monthly production data showed that crude steel production in the first six months of the year increased by 3.5% compared to the same period of last year. After recording a growth rate of 1.5% in the first quarter, production growth accelerated to 5.4% in the second quarter, indicating a stronger pace of expansion in the sector.
First increase in flat steel production this year
In June, hot-rolled flat steel production increased by 7.7% year on year to 780,000 tons. This marked the first annual increase in the flat steel segment in 2026.
However, hot-rolled flat steel production totaled 4.6 million tons in the January-June period, down 5.4% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Meanwhile, hot-rolled long steel production increased by 5.4% year on year in June to 1.1 million tons. In the first half of the year, long steel production reached 6.9 million tons, posting a 7.8% increase compared to the January-June period of 2025.

 

European Steel Association (EUROFER) Director General Axel Eggert stated in a comment on the European Commission’s proposal to revise the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) that fully decarbonising the European steel sector by 2033 is not realistic without access to affordable clean electricity and hydrogen.

Eggert stated that the European Commission expects the European steel sector to decarbonise by this date under the regulation, which foresees the phase-out of free emission allowances by the end of 2033. However, he stressed that the sector’s most critical question remains unanswered, as it is still unclear where affordable electricity and hydrogen will come from.
Noting that companies are expected to make multi-billion-euro investments, Eggert said it remains uncertain whether electricity and hydrogen infrastructure will be ready on time, whether sufficient volumes of clean electricity will be available, and whether these resources will be supplied at prices that allow the EU steel industry to maintain its global competitiveness.
According to EUROFER, the proposed regulation on the phase-out of free emission allowances does not eliminate investment uncertainty facing the sector. In particular, maintaining the planned reduction in free allowances for the steel sector during 2029-2030 and the risk of a sharp decline in the main steel benchmark under the benchmarking rules in 2031 could weaken both carbon leakage protection and incentives for companies that invest early.
Eggert also noted that the proposal once again does not include the long-awaited structural solution for exports under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). He added that the new conditions for free allowances create additional administrative burdens and legal uncertainty, particularly in cases where investment decisions depend on factors outside companies’ direct control.
Eggert stated that the European Union has set ambitious climate targets, but the necessary infrastructure and supporting conditions repeatedly promised by member states have not yet been established to achieve these goals. He commented, “Unless these conditions are provided, the ETS only sets a deadline but does not offer a credible roadmap to achieve this target.”
Reminding that the European steel sector is already investing to replace around 35% of its conventional steel production capacity with hydrogen-ready facilities between 2030 and 2032, Eggert stressed that expecting the sector to achieve 100% decarbonisation by 2033 without the right conditions is not realistic.
Eggert concluded that if the European Commission fails to deliver on its commitments regarding clean energy, hydrogen infrastructure and competitive energy costs, Europe risks losing a significant part of its steel industry rather than successfully decarbonising it.